The Ultimate Fighting Championship marketing machine has created great expectations for the debut of Fight Island with UFC 251 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. However, it will not be the first time a cage was constructed on the sand and close to the sea.
Twenty-one years ago, on July 1, 1999, Brazilian promoter Frederico Lapenda staged World Vale Tudo Championship 8 at the Havana Beach Club in Aruba. The cage was located just 10 meters from the Caribbean Sea, and the event featured an eight-man openweight vale tudo tournament, with no gloves and few rules.