Athletes, prepare yourself for the most dangerous game: any game you have to play while battling coronavirus. In an interview with TMZ Sports Monday, UFC President Dana White reveals his novel idea for subverting the novel coronavirus outbreak in a way other sports organizations simply hadn’t thought of yet: buy a private island and just hold fights there. “I’m a day or two away from securing a private island,†explained White. “We’re getting the infrastructure put in now, so I’m gonna start doing the international fights too, with international fighters there.†This is separate from a UFC fight currently scheduled for April 18 at an undisclosed location, presumably the Island of Dr. Moreau.
According to White, the private island fights will have no audiences (in the style of this year’s WrestleMania), and would require fighters, refs and production crew to undergo ongoing COVID-19 testing and monitoring. Of course, it only takes one asymptomatic athlete to inadvertently spread the coronavirus, not to mention all the grappling UFC fights require, from way closer than six feet away. On the other hand, it’s not that different from the plan the MLB reportedly floated to get baseball up and running in May by holding all games in Phoenix, Arizona, so hey, maybe its not so far out of left field after all.