 | |
| 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 18,000 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 as their annual event.
In 2024 two UFC events will be held. UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov in August and UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway in October.
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).
In October 2024, the NBA returned to the arena for two preseason games between the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets. The league faced criticism from human rights groups, which claimed the event was assisting repressive regimes in sportswashing their human rights records. Human Rights Watch urged the NBA to undertake measures to address the UAE’s rights records. The game was also attended by U.S. ambassador Martina A. Strong, who was questioned for supporting the NBA’s association with the UAE, despite human rights concerns. Instead, Strong commended the NBA for expanding global access to basketball. [15] [16]
Farmasi Arena is an indoor multipurpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is one of the indoor arena with largest capacity in the country, with 15,430 people for sports and up to 18,768 for concerts.
The NBA Global Games are a series of games featuring NBA teams that are played outside the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to bring teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to play games against either another NBA team or a foreign club.
Dustin Glenn Poirier is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. Poirier also challenged three times for the UFC Lightweight Championship and once for the BMF title. As of April 16, 2024, he is #4 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Yas Island is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates named after the Arabian Tribe- Bani Yas Tribe. 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.
Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of 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.
UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 13, 2019 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
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 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.
A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quarantine and safety protocols in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A bubble was established for a single sports season, tournament, or for an ongoing series of events, allowing them to still be held and made available to broadcast audiences.
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, 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 308: Topuria vs. Holloway was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2024, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.