UAE Begins to Embrace the West
In recent years, there has been a shift in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the diversity of people living in the country continues to grow and it becomes more of a melting pot – it has been suggested that some 20% of the population is made up of western and Arab ex-pats, and because of this, there is a lot of mixing of cultures. Whilst there are still plenty of restrictions in the region, it seems some are beginning to ease as we see the UAE embrace one of the west’s biggest sports.
One of the biggest fighting promotions in the world, the UFC, recently made a big move to Abu Dhabi in order to hold a number of fighting events that it was unable to continue in the US due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions and is now being hailed as the undisputed international fight capital for the company as Yas Island is now home to the UFC Fight Island. Some of the success has been held to Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Russian wrestler who is currently the lightweight champion for the promotion – fans in Abu Dhabi have suggested that Khabib being a religious Muslim has very much helped promote the sport in the region and bring the UFC to the heights that it is currently at.
Image from thesportsrush.comThe promotion has actually been so successful there that UFC boss Dana White has even stated “all the big fights are going to be in Abu Dhabi” signaling a possible change from the Las Vegas roots that it currently holds. But it does bring into question – is it possible we see other western favorites follow? A huge part of the fighting industry revolves around betting, and all forms of gambling inside the UAE are banned, whilst viewers can still gamble outside of the UAE as a growing number of sites operating elsewhere such as those found at https://maximumcasinos.com/ are, which also aren’t subscribed to Gamstop and other preventative initiatives, there are options available – but to truly succeed in the region, betting may need to become a big part of the UFC presence in Abu Dhabi.
Either way, it does open up so exciting opportunities – there had been a lot of back and forth at the start of the year as to whether or not the Fight Island idea could ever really live up to what had been promised but as it stands so far it has certainly delivered. With it being a bit of a travel from the US-based gyms where many athletes train if it is to become the new home of the UFC it’s likely that some athletes may feel the need to relocate but with the UFC HQ and Apex center still being located in Las Vegas that’s likely still some time away – it’s also going to much harder to break away from Vegas as many fans will still consider it the fight capital of the world with big names such as the MGM Grand being a timeless location to many much like the garden in NY.
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