Secret UFC location: Fighters ‘won’t know where’ they’re being transported

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This sounds like a horrible movie plot.

Dana White stated that they’re pushing through and will be “cranking” out UFC events, all starting with UFC 249 and its recently finalized line up. According to the UFC President, they’ll be hosting events every week, both in the US, and in a private island outside the country.

“This place, where this fight’s going to be on April 18th, I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights at. I’ve also secured an island. I’ve got an island,” he told ESPN. “The infrastructure is being built right now. We’re going to do all our international fights on that island.

“So when we do this fight on April 18th, international and in the United States, we’re going to start cranking. The UFC will be back up running,” he said. “We’re going back to back to back. We’re going back to our regular schedule.”

White, who constantly used the “we’re regulated by the government” manta to promote his company for years, is now doing the complete opposite. They’re now going to keep both locations secret as they try to dodge regulations during this pandemic.

The UFC president says even the fighters themselves won’t know the location. White briefly explained the bizarre way they’ll be handling logistics, and it’s a move better suited for a horrible slasher film than a legitimate sporting organization.

“What we’re going to do is, we’re going to get the fighters somewhere, and we’re going to bring them to this location. They won’t know where they’re headed to,” White said vaguely.

“We’re working on it right now. But there’s definitely some planes involved. Things like that, especially for this island.”

Signing a deal without even knowing where they’ll be flying and competing in seems like a massive ask for fighters — who are not even employees — and that’s not even considering all the health risks involved. This clearly seems like something that couldn’t (shouldn’t) happen in any other sports organization, but fighters need a paycheck, so I have no doubt that they’ll be able to find many who will ignore the risks.

What are the medical capabilities of that island / area, especially now that most doctors are flooded and busy from the pandemic? What happens to fighters who aren’t allowed to fly from injuries incurred during the fight? What happens to those who will need to be quarantined after? What happens if someone tests positive?

Even if we don’t talk about how they’re trying to skirt government regulations and ignore medical professionals urging everyone to cancel combat sports events, there’s still a million questions on health and safety protocols that should be asked. With White and his hatred for the “scumbag” media though, it will likely mean that the public won’t be getting much answers.