Dana White says UFC 253 with Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa likely to take place on Fight Island

UFC president Dana White says that the UFC 253 pay-per-view featuring Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa will likely take place on Fight Island.

UFC 253 is set to take place on September 19 and the main event will see the UFC middleweight title up for grabs as the champion Adesanya faces off with the challenger Costa. The UFC has confirmed this bout will be the main event and the date is set in stone, but the venue and location have yet to be determined at this time.

Speaking to Complex, White was asked where UFC 253 would take place. Although the UFC has been busy holding events at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas during the month of August, White says the promotion will likely be headed back to Fight Island for UFC 253.

“We’ll be announcing (the location) soon. But obviously it’s looking like Fight Island,” White said.

“A lot of the big fights that are international are going to be on Fight Island. I told everybody the last time we were there, people sort of thought this was a one-and-done or whatever, it’s not. We’re going to be at Fight Island. Abu Dhabi is going to end up being the fight capital of the world. It definitely isn’t Las Vegas.”

White said earlier in the week that the UFC is planning on holding five more weeks’ worth of events on Fight Island, but he didn’t say when those events would take place. Taking a look at the UFC’s upcoming schedule, it seems reasonable to conclude that UFC 254 on October 24 featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje for the undisputed lightweight title will also take place on Fight Island since Nurmagomedov is an international fighter.

If what Dana White is saying holds true regarding the big international title fights taking place on Fight Island, UFC 252 featuring the trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier may be the last UFC pay-per-view held stateside for the next few months.