The UFC has failed 22 new trademarks: 11 for “Fight Island” and 11 for “UFC Fight Island.”
“The filings were made based on an ‘intent to use’ FIGHT ISLAND as the name of a mixed martial arts competition and for branded goods such as clothing and jewelry,” explained attorney Josh Gerben on Twitter (h/t MMA Mania).
On April 13, the UFC filed 22 new trademarks for:
‘FIGHT ISLAND’
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‘UFC FIGHT ISLAND’
The filings were made based on an “intent to use” FIGHT ISLAND as the name of a mixed martial arts competition and for branded goods such as clothing and jewelry.#UFC #ufc249 pic.twitter.com/Q9cHHQJFBK
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) April 17, 2020
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The UFC’s new trademarks stem from a plan from company president Dana White, who is determined to keep business running despite the coronavirus pandemic.
White is confident that he will be able to keep American fighters busy with events on American soil, most likely in locales like Nevada and Florida. Due to travel bans associated with the pandemic, however, White will not be able to bring UFC fighters of other nationalities to the US.
Enter his “Fight Island.”
White plans to bring those foreign fighters to a private island which is allegedly being developed as we speak.
“We’re still working on getting that deal done, which we’ll have done this week,” the UFC boss said on a recent episode of ESPN’s Get Up!. “If I keep putting on fights only in the United States with United States talent, I’ll run through all my talent very quickly. This is a global sport, we do lots of fights internationally, and we had a lot of fights scheduled internationally. Those will continue.
“I have an island that we can fly everyone right into — hopefully by like, mid-May,” White added, dropping the timeframe for his island fights.
Do you think the UFC will really manage to promote events with international fighters on this so-called Fight Island?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/17/2020.