The London Independent is reporting that fans may be able to attend fights on UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. It’s not clear whether fans will gain immediate access to this Saturday’s event, but the plan is for future events to house fans.
According to Abu Dhabi Destination Marketing Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism Saeed al Saeed stated to the Independent that they were confident that they “would be able to get fans into the stadium, it just needs to be approved.” The news seems promising for future events and maybe the potential for an appearance by Conor McGregor as he looks to fight Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match. McGregor has expressed interest in fighting Dustin Poirier in January at Cowboys Stadium and then fight Pacquiao. The former two-division UFC champ inferred that he would like to fight Pacquiao in the middle east and the UFC’s Fight Island would make sense. It would enable McGregor fans to travel to Abu Dhabi without concerns on a travel ban in the U.S. while allowing Pacquiao to avoid U.S. taxes.
Payout Perspective:
The move to include fans at UFC Fight Island is another step-in getting fans back into venues to generate gate revenue as well as tourism in Abu Dhabi. The tourism board has been going overtime in promoting the area during UFC broadcasts so the enticement of fans to come to fights makes sense for all involved.
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