ABU DHABI – UFC president Dana White has made it clear the UFC will visit Abu Dhabi frequently for the foreseeable future, and local reps seem just fine with the idea. “Return to UFC Fight Island” associate project manager Nour Al Harmoodi told MMA Junkie that while the UFC’s visits require extensive operational logistics, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism remains committed to creating a safe environment for the promotion as long as necessary. “It demonstrates, really, Abu Dhabi’s readiness and capabilities to host such world-class sporting events and tourism events, in general,” Al Harmoodi said. “It has that infrastructure, it has that build, it has that manpower to host such a spectacle of an event, so we’ve taken such great measures to be able to make this happen, from health and safety procedures and protocols, following both government and private entities that are making this happen – working very hard and diligently to make this happen. “We’re trying to tell the world that, ‘Hey, Abu Dhabi is ready for you to come here.’” Saturday’s blockbuster UFC 254, which features a lightweight title unification bout between reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) marks the UFC’s ninth fight card in a 15-week span in Abu Dhabi. The events have taken place during a three-week run in July, as well as the current five-week stretch that began in September.
Read the rest here: