UFC selected Yas Island, Abu Dhabi as the destination for UFC Fight Island™, marking the global return of live sport and entertainment events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi and UFC hosted three outstanding events within the space of seven months on Yas Island, cementing Abu Dhabi’s status as the international home of UFC.

Flash Forum hosted the first two Fight Island events including UFC® 251 Usman vs. Masvidal; UFC® 253 Adesanya vs. Costa, and UFC® 254 Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje and employed the versatility of the venue to effectively implement the strictest COVID-19 safety measures within an 11km2 safe zone ‘bubble’, setting a new global benchmark for major events during the pandemic.

The third UFC Fight Island™ event, UFC® 257 Poirier vs. McGregor 2 at the newly opened Etihad Arena in January 2021, welcomed back fans for the first time in UFC event since the start of the pandemic.

Later in 2021, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi hosted the return of Abu Dhabi Showdown Week, headlined by UFC® 267: Blachowicz vs. Teixeira, featuring title fights between Jan Blachowicz vs Glover Teixeira and Petr Yan vs Corey Sandhagen at the Etihad Arena.

In October 2022 Abu Dhabi Showdown Week returned once again with a week-long festival of city-wide events and activations headlined by UFC® 280: OLIVEIRA vs MAKHACHEV.