UFC’s schedule for its four events on Fight Island next month is just about full.
UFC president Dana White on Thursday revealed the company’s main card lineups, as well as the majority of prelims, for events scheduled on July 11, July 15, July 18 and July 25. The events will be held at UFC’s Fight Island, which is located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
A UFC 251 pay-per-view event, headlined by three title fights, will kick things off July 11. The card will feature welterweight champion Kamaru Usman defending his title against Gilbert Burns. Other top bouts on the card are a featherweight title rematch between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway and a vacant bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.
UFC Fight Night on July 15 will be headlined by featherweights Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige, and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will make his bantamweight debut against Pedro Munhoz.
On July 18, a flyweight title rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez will serve as the main event. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez earlier this year but missed weight for the bout and was ineligible to win the championship.
The flurry of UFC events on Yas Island will culminate July 25 with a middleweight main event between former champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. That main card also will feature a light heavyweight fight between Brazilian legends Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, as well as the return of formerly retired Swede Alexander Gustafsson against Fabricio Werdum.
The concept of Fight Island includes a hotel, arena and training Octagon on the beach as well as a 10-mile “safe zone” to secure the location from outside visitors. Only UFC athletes, their respective camps and staff will be permitted in the area.