When is UFC 251 and who is fighting? All you need to know about UFC Fight Island and its first event

The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi next month, but not like we have seen before. The capital will host the inaugural Fight Island, a series of events taking place at one location across a two-week period, with the opener boasting one of the best cards of the year. Here are the details.

What is it?

First things first: the UFC have never produced a Fight Island before. In fact, this will most likely be a one-off. Faced with not being able to stage fights because of the coronavirus crisis, and then with subsequent travel restrictions impacting the United States and countries across the world, the promotion created the concept to allow their international athletes to compete. So Fight Island was born.

Its location has been a closely guarded secret, but last week Abu Dhabi was confirmed as hosts of the historic fight festival. It will comprise four events: July 12, 16, 19 and 26.

The first in the series will be UFC 251, a stacked, pay-per-view event featuring three title fights. The other three events each run under the "UFC Fight Night” banner.

Why Abu Dhabi?

Abu Dhabi had already a close relationship with the UFC, but that was strengthened last year when it signed a five-year deal with the promotion. Under the agreement, the UFC agreed to put on one major event annually, as first seen with UFC 242 last September. Fight Island is viewed an "extension" of that existing relationship, and therefore doesn't impact the UFC's return to the emirate later this year - most probably in October.

When is it?

UFC 251

Friday, July 10: Weigh-ins from 7pm

Sunday, July 12: Early prelims live from 2am, prelims live from 4am, main card live from 6am

UFC Fight Nights

- UFC Fight Night - July 16. Event begins at 3am, with the main card kicking off at 6am.

- UFC Fight Night - July 19. Event begins at 2am, with the main card kicking off at 5am.

- UFC Fight Night - July 26. Event begins at 5am, with the main card kicking off at 8am.

Where is it?

Flash Forum will house all four events. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi have created a 25-kilometre "safe zone" on Yas Island that will be open only to fighters, coaches, UFC staff and other personnel deemed necessary to the operation. DCT-Abu Dhabi told The National they expect there will be more than 2,500 people on site for the duration of Fight Island.

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UFC makes successful return to Abu Dhabi with UFC 242

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Who is fighting?

The main card for UFC 251 is headlined by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman's title defence against Jorge Masvidal, who was an 11th-hour replacement for Gilbert Burns. Born in Nigeria, Usman has never been defeated in 11 UFC appearances, with a professional mixed martial arts record of 16-1. He captured the welterweight crown in March last year when he defeated Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision. Usman last fought in December, defending his title against Colby Covington.

Masvidal, meanwhile, stepped in for Burns earlier this week after the Brazilian tested positive for Covid-19 before leaving for the UAE. One of the sport's most popular fighters, Masvidal is a veritable veteran, with 35 victories and 13 defeats in his pro career. The American last fought in November, when he saw off Nate Diaz by TKO to claim the one-off "BMF" crown. With three wins in all through 2019, including a record-breaking, five-second knockout of Ben Askren, Masvidal was widely recognised as fighter of the year.

Elsewhere, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway will go head-to-head for the second time in a rematch of their December clash. Australian Volkanovski won the original bout by unanimous decision to take Holloway’s title.

Rounding out the title fights, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo will face off for the vacant bantamweight crown following champion Henry Cejudo's decision to retire last month.

UFC 251's main card is completed by the highly anticipated rematch between former strawweight champions Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade, who first met in May last year, and the match-up at flyweight between Amanda Ribas and Paige Vanzant.

The fourth title bout on Fight Island pits No 1- and No 2-ranked flyweights Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez for the vacant flyweight title in the main event on July 18. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in the second round of their first meeting in February, but he missed weight and the match was downgraded to a non-title fight.

The full cards for all four Fight Island events are listed below, although they are subject to change.

UFC 251, July 12

Kamaru Usman v Jorge Masvidal - welterweight title bout

Alexander Volkanovski v Max Holloway - featherweight title bout

Petr Yan v Jose Aldo - bantamweight title bout

Jessica Andrade v Rose Namajunas

Amanda Ribas v Paige VanZant

Volkan Oezdemir v Jiri Prochazka

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos v Muslim Salikhov

Makwan Amirkhani v Dan Henry

Leonardo Santos v Roman Bogatov

Marcin Tybura v Alexander Romanov

Raulian Paiva v Zhalgas Zhumagulov

Karol Rosa v Vanessa Melo

Martin Day v Davey Grant

UFC Fight Night, July 16

Calvin Kattar v Dan Ige

Frankie Edgar v Pedro Munhoz

Carla Esparza v Marina Rodriguez

Abdul Razak Alhassan v Mounir Lazzez

Jared Gordon v Chris Fishgold

Modestas Bukauskas v Vinicius Moreira

Molly McCann v Taila Santos

Ricardo Ramos v Lerone Murphy

John Phillips v Dusko Todorovic

Tim Elliott v Ryan Benoit

Diana Belbita v Liana Jojua

UFC Fight Night July 19

Deiveson Figueiredo v Joseph Benavidez - flyweight title bout

Jack Hermansson v Kelvin Gastelum

Marc Diakiese v Rafael Fiziev

Ariane Lipski v Luana Carolina

Alexandre Pantoja v Askar Askarov

Roman Dolidze v Khakis Ibragimov

Grant Dawson v Nad Narimani

Joe Duffy v Joel Alvarez

Brett Johns v Montel Jackson

Tagir Ulanbekov v Alexander Doskalchuk

Davi Ramos v Arman Tsarukyan

Carlos Felipe v Sergei Spivac

UFC Fight Night, July 26

Robert Whittaker v Darren Till

Shogun Rua v Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Alex Oliveira v Peter Sobotta

Fabricio Werdum v Alexander Gustafsson

Danny Roberts v Nicolas Dalby

Tom Aspinall v Jake Collier

Justin Tafa v Raphael Pessoa

Movsar Evloev v Mike Grundy

Bethe Correia v Pannie Kianzad

Nathaniel Wood v Umar Nurmagomedov

Ramazan Emeev v Shavkat Rakhmonov

How to watch in UAE

Fight fans can watch the action through the UFC Arabia app.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Electric scooters: some rules to remember

Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes

While you're here

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Sholto Byrnes: How US and China can get along in Indo-Pacific

Brahma Chellaney: Trump's unpredictability is making China great again

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

THE BIO

Age: 33

Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill

Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.

Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?

Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem

Rating: 4/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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Trump v Khan

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2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

The%20specs

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Kerb weight: 1580kg

Price: From Dh750k

On sale: via special order

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Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

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When is UFC 251 and who is fighting? All you need to know about UFC Fight Island and its first event

Abu Dhabi confirmed as host for historic series, which will begin with a stacked card

What is it?

Why Abu Dhabi?

When is it?

UFC 251

UFC Fight Nights

Where is it?

_________________

UFC makes successful return to Abu Dhabi with UFC 242

_________________

Who is fighting?

UFC 251, July 12

UFC Fight Night, July 16

UFC Fight Night July 19

UFC Fight Night, July 26

How to watch in UAE

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Electric scooters: some rules to remember

While you're here

WOMAN AND CHILD

THE BIO

Groom and Two Brides

On Women's Day

The President's Cake

Living in...

more from Joseph Borell

Trump v Khan

Wicked: For Good

The%20specs

Libya's&nbsp;Gold

The specs

Gulf Under 19s final

While you're here

While you're here

Libya's Gold