| Dana White is looking for a fight. He’s always looking for a fight. When he launched his own YouTube video series he called it … “Looking for a Fight.” And while the world has been fighting against the aggressive seep of the coronavirus these past four months, White has been fighting – to keep fighters fighting. The UFC president’s approach wasn’t for everyone, with many quite reasonably stating that there were more important things during a global pandemic than getting combat sports going again. White didn’t care. Forget getting going, he never wanted to shut down in the first place. The result is that as all sports battle fresh realities and a multitude of headaches, White, the willing villain and irrepressible showman, is about to put on one of his company’s biggest cards ever, from a mystical exclusion zone known as “Fight Island.”  “If everything goes well, it is massive success,” Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel, who has known White for more than a decade, told me. “(White) problem-solved in the middle of a pandemic and against much criticism made what seemed impossible, possible.“He’s always said things like ‘the UFC finds a way’ and nothing would prove that more than Fight Island.” White has a long-standing friendship with Donald Trump, dating back to when some of the UFC’s earliest shows were staged at Trump properties in Atlantic City. When Trump met with various sports league officials in the first weeks after COVID-19 reached North America, White was among the most aggressive in seeking to put on events. After getting foiled in attempting to use Californian tribal casino facilities, the UFC put on three shows from Jacksonville, Fla., starting on May 9, then five more from its own facility in Las Vegas.  Now things are about to reach a new level, as highlighted by former featherweight champion Max Holloway. “I want to fight on the beach,” Holloway said, this week. Wait a minute, what? Yes, White and his team have installed an octagon on the sand at Yas (now Fight) Island, an enclave on the coast of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They’ve also set up an arena, training sites and administrative space. Fighters have been flown in by private jet ahead of UFC 251, tested, quarantined, before then finding all they need to get ready for action. The bouts themselves are supposed to take place in an indoor venue, but Holloway is not alone in clamoring for some to be switched to the training ring beachside, marveling at the prospect of the extraordinary visuals it would provide.  White attracts criticism, he practically feeds off it, but there is no umbrage to be taken with the card his matchmakers have formulated, among the most stacked in UFC history. When promoting events, White loves nothing more than having a topic to get heated about, on this occasion, press chatter about the location. “There seems to be this thought with the media and the fans that we are going to do four fights on Fight Island and that’s it,” White told TMZ. “Fight Island is here to stay. I can see us not only finishing the year on Fight Island but going to the next year the way this thing is going. I am looking at houses over there. We are going to be there for a while.” Holloway’s bid to reclaim the featherweight crown from Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski is a rip-roaring reboot of Volkanovski’s dominant win at UFC 245 in December. The bantamweight belt is also on the line on Saturday, with dual champion Henry Cejudo’s sudden retirement having opened the door for contenders Petr Yan and Jose Aldo to grab some hardware. But the highlight is Kamaru Usman’s defense of the welterweight belt against fan favorite Jorge Masvidal, who stepped in late when original opponent Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID.  It took a new contract to appease Masvidal, but it made a really good card even better. Masvidal is playing up the attention, jetting on in wearing an outlandish pink robe and even grabbing a slice of pizza when the plane touched down in Rome to refuel. “Anticipation,” long time UFC fan Matt Nguyen told me. “That’s what makes a great mixed martial arts card. This has so much anticipation because you have three big title fights, the thrill of Masvidal coming in late – plus the whole buzz around Fight Island and how totally freaking cool that is. “My wife doesn’t get why I like Dana White so much and I get it. But if you are a fan of the UFC, you know that there is this constant effort to keep the show on the road, no matter what. If you’ve been bored to tears for a few months, like many of us, that means a lot.” You don’t have to like White, in truth it is kind of better that not everyone does. He’s not much bothered either way, but be safe in knowing this. Whatever you think of the man who made the card happen, it is okay to love the fact that the juiciest sports event since the shutdown is about to go ahead.  Here’s what others have said … Lawrence Epstein, UFC Chief Operating Officer: “Dana (White) has had some great ideas over the years, but I think this one may be at the top of the list. One of the reasons we’re doing so much testing on the front end is so that we want to do whatever we can to make sure no one tests positive once they’re there. But we will have that dedicated area ready in case we have any positive tests.” Dana White, UFC President: “I actually think throughout this thing, it’s made me and my staff stronger, and me and my fighters stronger. In good times in the UFC, everybody is good, everything is great. It’s in the hard times that you find out who’s real and who do you really want to be in a foxhole with when things go bad … my fighters know that when I do something, I’m going to do it right. They know that they’re going be safe, they’re going be protected, no matter how scary this is and how much we don’t know about it, I feel like my fighters believe that I’m going to do the right thing.” Alexander Volkanovski, UFC Fighter: “I’ve seen some photos and it looks pretty amazing, so it will be some pretty good sights over there. But again, it’s just the timing of everything; it’s going to be the first fight on Fight Island, three title fights on this card; this is going to be absolutely huge. We still don’t have many sports happening right now, so I’m glad even though it’s a short-notice fight that I’m over there and going to be doing my thing.” |
