 | |
| Location | Yas Bay Waterfront, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 24°27′37″N54°36′14″E / 24.4603°N 54.6040°E |
| Operator | Ethara |
| Capacity | 18,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | January 2021 |
| Architect | HOK |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Etihad Arena (initially known as Yas Bay Arena while under construction) is an indoor arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, located on the Yas Bay Waterfront district of Yas Island. Designed by HOK, the capacity of the venue is 14,000 and it is operated by Etihad. [1] [2]
In 2018, its design received the 2018 MENA Green Building Award for "Sustainable Building Design of the Year". [3]
In January 2020, naming rights for the new arena were sold to Etihad Airways. [4]
Originally expected to open in March 2020, its opening was delayed due to event cancellations tied to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates. [5]
It opened in January 2021, with its first event being UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar . The arena held its second UFC event days later, hosting UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny . The UFC had held mixed martial arts events on Yas Island behind closed doors in a bubble arrangement known as "Fight Island"; this marked the UFC's first event in the series to have spectators at a limited capacity. [6] [7] The promotion held its first PPV event that same month, hosting UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 . [8]
The UFC returned to Etihad Arena for UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira in October 2021. [9] The UFC returned to the arena in 2022 again for their annual October PPV UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev . [10] In October of 2023 UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 was held for their annual event.
For hosting the 2021 World Swimming Championships in December 2021, a temporary pool was added to the arena. [3] [11]
On 21 May 2022, the arena hosted an exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Don Moore. On November 5, 2022, a WBA light heavyweight title fight was held between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramírez.
In October 2022, the arena held two NBA preseason games between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks. The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022 marked the league’s first games held in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf. [12]
On 26 January 2023, the arena held Imagine Dragon's Mercury World Tour. [13] It was the band's first concert in the city of Abu Dhabi.
In October 2023, the NBA returned to the arena for two preseason games between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. [14]
Guns N' Roses performed on June 1, 2023, many old songs were played for the first time in a long time (Anything Goes, Pretty Tied Up and Bad Obsession, Down on the Farm)
Charles Oliveira da Silva is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and third degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Yas Island is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). It is a leisure island and one of the largest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi.
Jerome Max Kelii Holloway is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Featherweight Champion. As of February 20, 2024, he is #2 in UFC featherweight rankings, and as of January 24, 2024, he is #14 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. Makhachev has competed professionally since 2010, along with becoming a combat sambo world champion in 2016 and two-time Russian national champion at 74 kg. As of 7 November 2023, he is #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Alexander Volkanovski is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Featherweight Champion. He is also a former Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight champion. Prior to his UFC debut, Volkanovski competed as a professional boxer in 2015. As of 20 February 2024, he is #1 in the UFC featherweight rankings and #7 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 12, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was originally planned to take place on June 6 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed on April 9 (see section below). In early June, it was confirmed that the event would instead take place in Abu Dhabi.
Fight Island is a series of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts events held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 16, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 25, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 22, 2022, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.
UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.