UFC to Return to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for UFC 281 on Oct. 22

We have our sights set on 𝐀𝐁𝐔 𝐃𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈 this
October

Visit here for details https://t.co/qxqMNvVjkW

[
#UFC281 | @VisitAbuDhabi
| @InAbuDhabi
|
#InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/RJusAhNipT
— UFC (@ufc)
March 18, 2022

A big Ultimate Fighting Championship show and a full
week’s worth of related events are slated to go down in a popular
destination this October.

The promotion released the news on Friday that it would be heading
back down to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for UFC 281. This
Oct. 22 card would serve as the finale for what is titled “Abu
Dhabi Showdown Week,” which states that it will be capped off by a
“crowd-pleasing” title bout. No details have been provided about
any matchup for this event seven months away, other than its date
and location of the Etihad Arena.

In 2010, the UFC first came to Abu Dhabi, putting on UFC 112 on Yas
Island with a pair of championship tilts on tap. B.J. Penn lost
his lightweight belt to Frankie
Edgar that night, and Anderson
Silva then defended his middleweight strap in a head-scratcher
against Demian Maia.
It took almost exactly four years to the day for the organization
to return to the area, putting on UFC Fight Night 39 inside the du
Arena in that city, with Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Roy Nelson in
its headliner.

Over five years later, the UFC returned to the area with UFC 242,
which saw Khabib
Nurmagomedov take on Dustin
Poirier for 155-pound glory and unified gold. Once the pandemic
hit at the beginning of 2020, the organization staged a few shows
in Florida, a few more at the UFC Apex, and then traveled off to
Abu Dhabi for a four-card residence on the island. A few months
later, while partnered with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and
Tourism, the league came back with five straight cards on the
affectionately titled “Fight Island” that allowed international
fighters to compete due to the Coronavirus-related travel
restrictions around the world.

2021 started off with a trio of events inside the Etihad Arena,
culminating with the rematch between Poirier and Conor
McGregor at UFC 257. One lone additional card – UFC 267 in
October – went back to the same arena, this time with fans fully
allowed to attend. The UFC is also looking to resume its
international schedule as this year rolls on, with its sights set
on Singapore in June, and it will be putting on UFC Fight Night 204
in London on March 19 as well.