Fans will attend Conor McGregor's comeback as the UFC allows spectators into its upcoming Fight Island festival
- The UFC's upcoming Fight Island festival will be open to fans.
- The three-event residency at the newly-built 18,000 capacity Etihad Arena is headlined by Conor McGregor's comeback against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 23.
- It hasn't been confirmed how many fans will be in attendance at the events.
- Tickets for UFC 257 — which cost up to $1,350 — already seem to be sold out, but fans can still get tickets to the January 16 and January 20 shows.
- "I'm pumped to start the year with a straight week of great fights — Saturday, Wednesday, and Sunday — for fight fans all over the world with [the] Fight Island Triple Header," said the UFC President Dana White.
FIGHT ISLAND - Fans will attend Conor McGregor's comeback fight as the UFC and Abu Dhabi allow spectators into the fight firm's upcoming Fight Island festival.
Organizers for the three upcoming shows at the newly-built 18,000 capacity Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi confirmed the news in a statement on Friday.
The news was first broken by The National reporter John McAuley.
UFC has a long-running deal to bring an event to Abu Dhabi once every year, but during the coronavirus pandemic it has visited the emirate three times, hosting shows involving its international roster of fighters. The first two Fight Island festivals - in July and October - were held behind-closed-doors, but this time, fans are back.
The UFC held its last show of 2020 inside its Apex facility in Las Vegas on December 19 and restarts live events on January 16 in the Middle East, with a show headlined by elite featherweight strikers Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar.
A second Abu Dhabi show is scheduled on January 20 with a welterweight headliner involving Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny, before Conor McGregor's lightweight main event against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 23.
All three events will be attended by fans, although it has not been confirmed how many fans can attend each event.
"I'm pumped to start the year with a straight week of great fights - Saturday, Wednesday, and Sunday - for fight fans all over the world with [the] Fight Island Triple Header," said the UFC President Dana White.
H.E Ali Al Shaiba, an official at Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism, said: "Following the reopening of our emirate to international tourism, we are delighted to welcome fans to Etihad Arena, our new world-class events and entertainment venue on Yas Island.
"Abu Dhabi's collaborative and coordinated response in tackling the spread of the coronavirus has inspired pioneering health measures to ensure a safe and secure environment," Al Shaiba said.
Tickets for UFC 257 cost between 795 dirhams ($215) and 4,995 dirhams ($1,350), but at the time of writing, tickets appeared to have sold out already.
Tickets for the Holloway and Kattar event, as well as the UFC's midweek show, can be bought at a price of 595 dirhams ($160) to 1,295 dirhams ($350).
The Fight Island shows will be the first time fans attended a UFC show since 15,000 people saw UFC 248 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8, 2020.
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