UFC president Dana White already has a group of extra special VIP fans in mind to which he plans to send invitations to whenever the UFC can start bringing fans to Yas Island, aka Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi.
White revealed some of that early list to TMZ Sports, and it includes pro-wrestling star turned superstar actor The Rock, American singer Demi Lovato and the lead singer of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
“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,” White said per TMZ Sports. “There’s so many, but we’ll shoot something out to all of them and see if they want to come.”
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The Rock Lauded Fight Island Concept
The Rock, whose real name is Dwayne Johnson, is a massive UFC fan who previously lauded the concept of Fight Island to ESPN’s Megan Olivi.
The Rock said (transcribed by Bleacher Report):
“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.”
Additionally, The Rock appeared at UFC 244 last year to present the winner of the main event the first-ever “BMF” title belt.
The Rock was treated like a star at UFC 244, kept his promise to present BMF title to Masvidal vs. Diaz winner t.co/KOw6D7buji
Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz via stoppage at UFC 244, and The Rock wrapped the newly created title belt around “Gamebred” in the center of the Octagon after the fight.
Lovato and Kiedis Also Love UFC
Meanwhile, Lovato has long been a fan of the sport. She’s famously spent lots of time training for MMA at the Unbreakable Performance Center owned by Jay Glazer in West Hollywood and was formerly in a romantic relationship with ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
The other celebrity White named is Kiedis from the American rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Obviously, that makes White’s first invites for fans to come to UFC’s Fight Island a very exclusive list, so if there are more fans out there hoping to make the trek over to Abu Dhabi to catch a fight anytime soon, one had better hope to have already attained a certain level of fame and fortune.
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UFC President’s VIP List for Fight Island