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The Third Fight Island Featuring Conor McGregor Will Be Open to Fans
A new year is here, but Covid-19 doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. However, people around the world are getting more used to living like this and are trying to adjust.
In the Ultimate Fighting Championship world, the upcoming Fight Island festival will be open to fans.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena is allowing the UFC to open its doors for fans for the upcoming three-day event. The statement was confirmed over the weekend by the organizers of the three upcoming shows. Even though the price tag on the seats is not cheap, the arena's 18,000 capacity is quickly selling out.
However, it's not entirely certain whether the full seating capacity of the arena will be allowed to fill or not.
The UFC has a long-time deal with Abu Dhabi to bring an event at least once a year. Therefore, they still kept coming to the Emirate during the coronavirus pandemic. While those fights involved the international roster of fighters, the two Fight Island festivals were not open to the public.
However, it seems like the last fight behind closed doors was held in Las Vegas on the 19th of December. The UFC will be restarting live events as of the January 16 promotion, and the fans are certainly quite excited.
The three-fight festival will start with featherweight elites Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. After that, welterweight fighters Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa will give the world a show on the 20th of January.
However, everyone mostly seems to be talking about the Fight Island festival's third and last fight. On the 23rd of January, Conor McGregor will be taking on Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Even though the McGregor and Poirier fight is at the end as well as the most expensive one, the seats to watch the card featuring Conor McGregor have been sold out.
All the hype from the fans on and on sports betting sites makes quite a lot of sense, as the UFC President is also very excited to see McGregor in the upcoming fight.
Dana White and Conor McGregor used to be an excellent boss-employee pair. But they had a falling out after the Irish fighter revealed some private chats of his with the UFC President. However, the relationship changed between the two, as Dana White expressed his excitement for the upcoming McGregor Vs. Poirier fight.
While chatting with Brett Okamoto from ESPN, White clearly implied that the world would see a more motivated Conor McGregor. The fighter who doesn't care who he is put against, the fighter who will come in and put up quite a show, “the real Conor,” says Dana White.
White also said to the Conor McGregor fans that this is a fight they simply shouldn't miss. Other than seeing ‘the real Conor,' fans are also excited to see who will advance to the championship fight.
MMA fans seem to be especially amped for the Jan. 23 card featuring Conor McGregor.
The Winner of the McGregor Vs. Poirier fight will have a shot at the title straight after, which makes this fight even more exciting for the fans. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov announced an abrupt retirement after Justin Gaethje submitted on Fight Island in October.
The UFC boss met up with Khabib before the McGregor and Poirier fight to discuss the status of the title he currently holds. Nurmagomedov said he'd consider returning to the Octagon.
Therefore, it's not going to be an easy task for White to get Khabib for a final showdown in the Octagon for the championship title. But, the wait will soon be over. We bet that the event featuring Conor McGregor will give fans their money worth, and the McGregor-Poirier and/or Dan Hooker v Michael Chandler will get Nurmagomedov's juices to fight flowing again.
