In two weeks on July 11, Ultimate Fighting Championships has their first promotion at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. UFC President Dana White has dubbed Yas Island “Fight Island”. The top mixed-martial arts promotional company in the world has scheduled a massive event, UFC 251, to break in Fight Island. Check out everything UFC bettors must know about UFC’s upcoming event in the UAE!
UFC 251: Usman vs. Burns
- When: July 11 at 7:00pm PDT
- Where: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- TV: ESPN PPV
What is UFC Fight Island?
Ultimate Fighting Championships, and particularly Dana White, had stepped forward to lead sports from the coronavirus shut down wasteland well before announcing UFC 251.
On April 7, White said that he was in talks to secure an international venue. He dubbed the venue “Fight Island”. But before UFC captured Yas Island as a place for MMA promotions, White sent his fighters to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
There, the company had three events: UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje on May 9, UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira on May 13, and UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris on May 16.
White then scheduled five events at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Those five promotions were UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns on May 30, UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer on June 6, UFC Fight Night: Eye vs. Calvillo on June 13, UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov on June 20, and UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker on June 27.
UFC 251 on June 11 will be the first time Ultimate Fighting Championships had a promotion at Yas Island since UFC 221 in February 2018.
How many fights are on the UFC 251 card?
Shortly after announcing that UFC would be the first U.S. sports league to return to action, Dana White said that anybody who “wants to fight can fight”.
White has been true to his word. Like most fight cards since the pandemic struck, White has scheduled as many fights as possible.
The preliminary card includes eight battles. We must consider all quality fights because not a single participant has more than 7 losses.
That fighter, Vanessa Melo, is a +175 underdog versus -200 and 12-3 Karol Rosa.
Markwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov, and Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiri Prochazka highlight the prelims.
For the main card, Gilbert Burns, who beat Tyron Woodley on May 30, returns to the Octagon to take on champ Kamaru Usman in the main event. The 19-3 Burns is a +190 underdog versus the -230 and 16-1 Usman.
The four other fights on the main card are all gigantic matchups. Check it out!
- 21-1 Champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. 21-5 Max Holloway
- 14-1 Peter Yan vs. 28-6 legend Jose Aldo
- 20-7 Jessica Andrade vs. 9-4 Rose Namajunas
- 9-1 Amanda Ribas vs. 8-4 Paige Van Zant
The first UFC promotion at Fight Island since 2018 is shaping up as one of the top cards in mixed-martial arts history.
How many promotions will Ultimate Fighting Championships have on Fight Island?
White has scheduled three promotions on Fight Island. After UFC 251, UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige happens on July 15. On July 18, it’s UFC Fight Night: Figueriedo vs. Benavidez 2.
Keep both events on your radar. One happens just 4 days after UFC 251. The other happens 3 days after that.
Get ready for great Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed-martial arts action on Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates!
