Shevchenko Wants ‘Fight Island’ Return

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is expected to move its international operations to a secret island in order to stage mixed martial arts (MMA) events during the coronavirus pandemic, unless the reemergence of the promotion’s APEX facility has put a hold on those plans.

But just in case “Fight Island” is still a reality, reigning women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is already packing her bags, because if you’re going to have to work for a living, why not work on a lush, tropical island with lots of sun and sand?

“I would love to have my training camp over there before the fight, to fight there, and actually to stay and recover after the fight on the island because I imagine it’s going to be super beautiful and a super nice place,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie Radio. “From the very, very first second when I heard about the island, it was already my favorite idea.”

Shevchenko (19-3) was expected to defend her flyweight title against streaking 125-pound contender Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251 this June in Australia; however, an injury to “Bullet” put that bout on hold until later this year.

“I definitely would love to fight there,” Shevchenko continued. “I love it because on the island is going to be everything that a fighter needs, right? Because it’s going to be built specially for the UFC fights, for the UFC fighters. That’s why we will have all facilities that we need, and it’s going to be very easy to train, very easy to do everything.”

Very easy and possibly very expensive.