Fight Island has been laying dormant for months now but it is ready to erupt into life once more with a huge UFC 267 line-up.
With Covid limiting most events to the US, the switch back to Abu Dhabi this weekend gives an opportunity for some of the best European fighters to showcase their talents.
Jan Blachowicz is currently the only male UFC champion from this continent but is joined by past champions and perhaps some future title-holders on Saturday night.
Here, Sportsmail puts some of the more mouthwatering match-ups under the microscope.
UFC have dusted off Fight Island in Abu Dhabi ahead of a stacked card on Saturday night
JAN BLACHOWICZ vs GLOVER TEIXEIRA
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
With a combined age of 80, these two headliners have a few miles on the clock but this should be a stellar main event.
Teixeira turns 42 prior to the biggest fight of his life and what a swansong it would be if he could have the strap wrapped around his waist.
His incredible recent run has rolled back the years but you feel a defeat would spell the end of his title ambitions and probably his career at the very top.
Jan Blachowicz (left) is defending his belt again having beaten Israel Adesanya in March
The Brazilian’s story is a remarkable one and he opened up this week about how he made it across the Mexican border to the USA more than two decades ago, before being forced to fight outside the mainstream without a visa or citizenship.
Eventually he was granted the status he craved and fought in the UFC, meaning he has been somewhat of a late bloomer.
He may not have the physique of a Greek God but is incredibly well-rounded and if the fight goes to the ground, Teixeira will be confident of dethroning the champion with his elite level jiu-jitsu.
Blachowicz will see this as another chance to register a straight-forward title defence.
Teixeira is dangerous but a 42-year-old who lacks the kind of devastating one-punch KO power of others in the light-heavyweight division is an acceptable challenge.
Glover Teixeira (right) will become the UFC’s oldest champion if he wins on Saturday
The Polish champion has been exceptional in recent years and is finally getting the credit he deserves after sending Israel Adesanya back down to middleweight with his first ever defeat.
And Blachowicz is wary not to rush in for the kill, telling MMA Junkie: ‘A lot of fighters make mistakes.
‘When they hit him hard, they try to finish him too fast. He catch them in his game because he has a lot of experience, and he knows how to use it.
‘I am ready for that. I will show how I’m going to defeat him on Saturday.’
PETR JAN vs COREY SANDHAGEN
BANTAMWEIGHT INTERIM TITLE FIGHT
Everyone knows Petr Yan is the true bantamweight champion of the UFC. But he only has himself to blame for his disqualification against Aljamain Sterling when he was cruising to victory.
That one ill-disciplined strike means the Russian will have to earn back his former status the hard way.
And it doesn’t come much harder than Sandhagen, who remains one of the division’s killers despite a recent split decision loss to the returning TJ Dillashaw.
Peter Yan (right) was disqualified from his UFC 259 fight with Aljamain Sterling (left) for this
Whoever wins this one will earn a fight with Sterling, who has been out undergoing surgery on his neck.
On paper, this could be one of the most entertaining scraps of the night.
Yan is not one to take a backward step and loves to relentlessly impose his game on opponents but Sandhagen can be deadly, as he showed with a devastating flying knee KO of Frankie Edgar.
The American had an interesting take this week, looking out over the landscape of the division as if he were a warlord from centuries gone by.
He said: ‘I think Aljamain had to retreat, and T.J.’s village is still on fire from when I set it on fire.
Sterling (left) was due to face Yan again but has withdrawn due to ongoing neck issues
‘So if we’re talking like ancient war type stuff, which is how I like to view this game, I’m the guy that can take the land. Those other two guys can’t right now.
‘I can take the land, so I’ll see myself as champ. I know most of the public sees Yan as champ anyways. I know I’ll definitely have some making up to do.
‘Definitely still need to make up my two losses against Aljamain and T.J. also, but I’ll go home with a smile on my face calling myself the champ.’
ISLAM MAKHACHEV vs DAN HOOKER
LIGHTWEIGHT
Hooker is putting some serious credit in the bank with fans as a man who is as game for a fight as anyone in the UFC.
The Kiwi jumped in on short notice last month to take on a fighter well below his ranking in Nasrat Haqparast.
It was a significant risk but ‘Hangman’ looked superb en route to a unanimous decision win and is jumping right back into the fire just over a month later.
Dan Hooker believes Islam Makhachev will be the next best challenge after Khabib
Fire might be putting it lightly. Makhachev brings an inferno of pressure the likes of which was seen by his coach and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, Remember him?
Nobody has wanted to fight the Dagestani and he’s had to claw tooth and nail into the title picture.
Finally he has a match-up with one of the top lightweights in the world and his claim for either an eliminator or shot at the belt would be undeniable with a win.
For Hooker, the turnaround is all the more remarkable given he went ‘on a three-day Las Vegas bender’ following his win last month.
Hooker defeated Nasrat Haqparast last month and is ready to dive straight back in
The UFC even struggled to track him down to offer him the Makhachev fight, and when they did, he didn’t have any training gear having only planned for a short stay in Sin City.
Hooker told the Australian Daily Telegraph: ‘So I had to tell the UFC I had no clothes. No training gear, no T-shirts, shorts, nothing.
‘So they kindly took me to a room inside the UFC Performance Institute and, opening a back closet full of gear, said “grab whatever you want”.
‘So I went full Kiwi style — took the p***, and packed two giant bags full of all the training gear and equipment I could.’
And he is convinced that a win should be enough to land him a title shot: ‘Because a fight can’t be a title eliminator for only one guy.
‘You can’t say one guy will get a title shot if he wins and the other won’t. That isn’t the way things work.
‘And I know the UFC will never promise a title shot — that’s not something they do. You have to go out there and earn it.’
Makhachev (right) is former retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s student and friend
LI JINGLIANG vs KHAMZAT CHIMAEV
WELTERWEIGHT
Few fighters have ever taken the UFC by storm to the same extent as Khamzat Chimaev did last year.
He demolished three opponents in 66 days for the fastest hat-trick in the organisation’s history and was calling out big names across three divisions.
The hype was as intense and aggressive as the Chechen-born Swede’s style of fighting but the manner of his wins was on a different level.
In his encounter with Rhys McKee, he landed 68 punches in 189 seconds to zero from his opponent.
Chimaev set a record for the fastest consecutive wins in UFC history across 10 days last year
In another against John Phillips, he landed 124 punches to his opponent’s two. It was a whirlwind of punishment and left fans desperate to see more.
But after a savage KO of Gerald Meerschaert, Chimaev’s progress was stunted.
He was supposed to fight Leon Edwards but was struck down by Covid so viciously that he, and the UFC, feared he would be unable to compete again.
The new kid on the block collapsed during training and was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties.
He then left for America in search of better medical solutions but shared footage of himself coughing up blood. At one point he even wrote an emotional message of retirement on his social media.
Chimaev burst onto the scene in the UFC last year with three dominant wins in 66 days
Dana White played down those fears and the UFC president was right to. Chimaev is back in action in the same location he made his name a year ago and will be must-see TV on Saturday.
Jingliang will be no pushover and it will soon become clear whether there are any lasting effects from Covid in the octagon.
‘Like last time I’m just going to go in, smash this guy, don’t get punched’, Chimaev promised.
MAKWAN AMIRKHANI vs LERONE MURPHY
FEATHERWEIGHT
Among the highlights of the pre-lims is British rising star Lerone Murphy’s biggest fight to date.
The Manchester native is still unbeaten in his short career, having only fought as a professional for the first time back in 2016.
Amirkhani or ‘Mr Finland’, as he’s known is a recognisable name and would elevate the Brit to a top 15 or top 10 with an impressive showing.
Lerone Murphy remains undefeated and won his last fight against Douglas Silva de Andrade
All three of Murphy’s fights in the UFC have been in Abu Dhabi so he will be on familiar ground this weekend.
Amirkhani is an experienced practitioner but confidence will be low having lost three of his last four.
Murphy will fancy himself to capitalise and fans can expect a fast-paced back-and-forth encounter with Amirkhani looking to secure takedowns and work his excellent submission game.