Set on the vibrant waterfront of Yas Bay, the Arena is the Middle East’s largest state-of-the-art indoor entertainment venue. It hosts a huge range of events, from electrifying concerts, exhilarating sports and sophisticated corporate functions, to intimate community celebrations.

Culturally rooted yet future focused, Etihad Arena takes inspiration from Arabic culture, warmly welcoming you to world-class experiences in an architecturally stunning environment.

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. The promotion held its first PPV event that same month, hosting UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2.

The UFC returned to Etihad Arena for UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira in October 2021. The UFC returned to the arena in 2022 again for their annual October PPV UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev. In October of 2023 UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 was held for their annual event.

For hosting the 2021 World Swimming Championships in December 2021, a temporary pool was added to the arena.

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.

On 26 January 2023, the arena held Imagine Dragon's Mercury World Tour. 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.