At one time, all of the world's greatest sporting events were held beneath the open sky, in amphitheaters of stone, fields of grass, or tracks of beaten earth. In modern times that has often changed, and with the advent of closed stadiums, sports domes, and air conditioning, many sports have moved indoors entirely.
At UFC 112, the UFC and their partners, Flash, are going to bring us something special: an open-air fighting contest that promises to be the greatest outdoor display of martial prowess in sports since medieval times. Indeed, you would have to turn the clock back hundreds of years to the age of chivalry to find a fighting event on a similar scale, when French knights contesting with each other on the jousting fields coined the word "tournament" itself.
Why is this event being built up to such an extent? For starters, it is the UFC's first outdoor event, but more than that, it is being held in a custom-built stadium that is being constructed in a country, Abu Dhabi, that is not exactly known for understatement.
Lorenzo Fertitta, who co-owns the UFC with his brother Frank, spoke to the Telegraph to discuss the organizations plans for UFC 112.
"The facility that is going to be constructed at Ferrari World on Yas Island going to be built just for this event," said Fertitta. "It is going to be incredible. Out partners Flash are constructing the whole thing like they have done for all the concerts and other events they have put on. Flash already have a reputation in the region for putting on the best events in the Middle East, and the plans they showed me for the facility were fantastic. This is the first arena we've ever gone to which has been designed specifically to host a UFC event. There won't be a bad sightline from any seat. It will be something to see and a great occasion to be part of. We've never gone outside before but we are excited to do this. I was born and raised in Las Vegas. When I was very young I was lucky enough to be able to go to some of the best boxing cards in the historic open air arena in the parking lot at Caesars Palace."
Abu Dhabi is a cultural and economic center in the Middle East, and has been closely allied with the West for decades. It also has a long history of enthusiasm for the martial arts, and has organized the ADCC international submission grappling competitions since the 1990s. For UFC 112, the UFC is assembling a fight card that rivals anything the organization has put on in the past, with no less than two title defenses by champions Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn.
"Some of the media here who are already familiar with the sport said to me this card is already as good as UFC 100," Fertitta stated. "We've only announced three fights but that's our intention: we wanted to bring a super-card to the region. And we have delved. The two world title fights are very exciting fights, and we've wanted to see Renzo Gracie in the UFC for a very long time. Gracie v Hughes is a dream fight by itself, and we have two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world defending their belts."
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