The Takedown | Why Dana White and UFC’s Fight Island is most likely in the Caribbean close to an international airport

While UFC pundits are already theorising who is going to headline the first card at Dana White’s Fight Island, which tentatively looks set for the end of June, there has been little theorising about where Fight Island will actually be.

First and foremost, Fight Island is probably within a North American scope (yet outside US waters), geographically speaking. The thought that White and the UFC – a US born, bred and based company – would set up, say, in the South Pacific, the Mediterranean or anywhere else, just doesn’t feel like a move this company would make. They have made most of their powerful allies close to home, so setting up in a far-reaching land base sounds too much of a stretch.

There is also a number of logistical challenges, which White has eluded to, including infrastructure – an Octagon, training facilities, hotels – which lends itself to short flight times from the UFC’s headquarters in Las Vegas. Nobody wants to set up a massive project thousands of kilometres away in a vastly different time zone on a different continent. Shorter is better and proximity is key.

This all points to the Caribbean. Southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, it is easily the best place White and company could pull this off. Short flights, minimal time zone changes and a plethora of opportunities in an area known for nice weather at his time of year, outside the occasional hurricane.

What the Caribbean presents is a number of autonomous islands with international airports close to home. The UFC needs an international airport to fly in its fighters, such as Ireland’s Conor McGregor, without having them land in the US first due to coronavirus restrictions.