Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

The Rock Will Be Among 1st Guests Invited to UFC's Fight Island, Says Dana White

Tim Daniels

UFC president Dana White said he's brainstorming a group of VIP guests he'd invite to Fight Island if given clearance by the venue's home in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

White told TMZ Sports in an interview released Saturday that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a candidate.

"Well, I haven't even put it together yet but, definitely, obviously The Rock ... and Anthony Kiedis is a diehard fan. Demi Lovato is a big fan," he said. "There's so many, but we'll shoot something out to all of them and see if they want to come."

Fight Island was a concept created by UFC so it could continue to host international fights amid travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In July, The Rock lauded the concept during an interview with ESPN's Megan Olivi:

"The first thing that went through my mind is I text Dana and I said, 'This if f'n brilliant. I love this idea.' ... Something we've all been trying to manage and mitigate is dealing with this pandemic and the ebbs and flows of it. It seems like we get it under control and then it comes back and kicks us in the gut. There's just so much happening globally. Take it back to the beginning of the year in that first quarter where we were all locked down and everything got put on hold... I think the company and Dana, they pivoted brilliantly and this idea of Fight Island, I think it's interesting. It's fun for the fans and this idea that fighters are going to fly to an island and they're gonna get in a cage and they're gonna do what they were born to do, which is fight, I love the idea."

Fight Island is hosting Saturday's UFC 254 card, which will feature a lightweight championship unification bout in the main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.

It's unclear when Abu Dhabi may allow fans to travel to the country for future cards.  

   

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