What?: The UFC are in full flow in their ‘Fight Island’ set up with two positive shows completed they will be geared up to make three the magic number with a new Flyweight Champion crowned in Abu Dhabi.
When and how?: Unlike previous events on Yas Island, this event will have a preliminary series of bouts beginning at 11pm in the United Kingdom on Saturday 18th July which equates to 6pm in New York. The Main card is set to begin at 1am in the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK until 4.30am meaning a 8pm start in NY.
Why?: Much like the previous two celebrations of the world’s leading mixed martial artists, the whole premise of ‘Fight Island’ should be enough to entice even the most shy combat fans into the fold. However, with a rematch to crown a new 125lbs champion and two hard hitting middleweight contenders in the mix – this third instalment sells itself.
Highlighted Prelim Bout: Grant Dawson v Nad Narimani
The closer that Saturday night comes the more interesting a bout that Grant Dawson v Nad Narimani appears; the two offer different styles as individual competitors and while one is a former Cage Warriors world champion the other is setting his sights on total sport domination by the end of 2023.
Dawson by nature is a grappler and submission artist with 12 of his 15 wins coming via tap out, despite having an unorthodox striking style, his strikes are often a distraction to engage in the clinch before wearing down his opponent on the ground and looking for his staple rear naked choke.
Despite being just 26-years-old the American has amassed 15 wins in his career with just one loss by way of TKO back in 2016 – he has a history of missing weight as his most recent outing saw him weigh in at 149.5, which was 3.5lbs over the required limit – the bout went ahead as he forfeited 30% of his purse and won via submission in round two.
Narimani entered the UFC as a champion in the cage warriors promotion after beating Paddy Pimblett via decision in his opponent’s home city in 2017 before successfully defending and then signing on the dotted line with Dana White. Two decision wins over Khalid Taha and Anderson dos Santos put the featherweight division on notice before Mike Grundy derailed his hype train via TKO in March 2019.
The Bristol born fighter has not competed since 2019 and will be hoping to get back in the win column. At 33-years-old he is just as experienced as his foe with 12 wins and 3 losses on his record – his style will be a huge challenge for Dawson to overcome, as Narimani is not an easy man to take down and is often first to engage both in striking and grappling with knockout power in every shot and a gas tank to take him into deep waters if required.
Prediction: Narimani by decision
Alexandre Pantoja v Askar Askarov
Two flyweights who will be hoping to one day headline their own card, however this time they settle as the main card openers, both men are well versed in grappling and submission – however just one contender enters the Octagon undefeated.
Askar Askarov is another mixed martial artist from Dagestan hoping to leave his legacy in his own division – while he currently boasts an 11-0 record his one blemish is a draw to Brandon Moreno in his UFC debut in 2019.
There is fewer placed on earth that breed talent like Fighting Eagle and much like his teammates, The Bullet fights in a similar style, with strong short and long kicks before looking for a takedown he is often the aggressor backing his prey up against the cage with seamless transitions – if his opponent wants a chance at winning, avoid the clinch.
Alexandre Pantoja will be relishing the chance to get back into the octagon following a starching knockout of Matt Schnell in December 2019 – both men started throwing haymakers in the first 20-seconds and continued the pace until the Brazilian caught the American with a overhand right and strikes on the ground for the finish.
The 30-year-old is much more comfortable standing and striking in what is often a wild affair although he is not adverse to a submission if the opportunity is there making him a true opportunist.
Prediction: Askarov via decision
Ariana Lipski v Luana Carolina
The only two females on the entire card will be hoping to standout in the crowd tonight; both women are of similar age and while Ariana Lipski is certainly the more experienced of the pair.
The Brazilian former Muay Thai champion first garnered attention in the MMA world as she picked up the then vacant KSW Flyweight championship in 2017 and defender her title twice before signing with the UFC in 2019.
While not experiencing the start she would have wanted, there is still many who believe in the 26-year-old as following losses to Molly McCann and Joanne Calderwood she picked up a win over Isabela de Padua and was rewarded with a four-fight contract extension. Her striking has led to a highlight reel of knockouts and her submission skills are one of the most underrated in the flyweight division – she has excellent timing and patience and is a threat from all angles.
Luana Carolina enters the octagon on a six-fight win streak including her most recent being a decision win over Priscilla Cachoeira in her UFC debut after winning a fight shown on Dana White’s contender series in 2018. The 27-year-old suffered a spine fracture in Summer 2019 that delayed her journey requiring physical therapy.
The Brazilian is a long and aggressive striker but often takes a few strikes to land her own, while fighting in quite a confident manner she has proven herself to be an exciting fighter in her limited experience. She is a struggle to take down to the ground and prefers to keep the bout standing or in the clinch while throwing a number of knees, breaking and then straight back to the exchange.
Prediction: Lipski by KO.
Marc Diakiese v Rafael Fiziev
This lightweight bout sees two 27-year-old pitted against each other in a bout that could potentially changed their direction in the UFC. Having both endured losses in their career already they have come at unfortunate periods in their history.
Marc Diakiese may have been nervous that his time in the UFC was coming to an end following three consecutive losses to Drakkar Klose, Dan Hooker and Nasrat Haqparast before finding a new lease of life to be victorious over Josesph Duddy and most recently Lando Vannata in September 2019.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo born fighter is a very unorthodox striker with short explosive moments often leaving his opponents crashing to the mat, comfortable on the backfoot and coming forward with a long frame and a height advantage on his next challenger – Diakiese could utilise his edge for an advantage.
Rafael Fiziev must have felt untouchable before entering the octagon for his UFC debut in April 2019 suffering his first career loss to Magomed Mustafaev where he mis-timed his step before getting caught with a devastating spinning back kick– the 5ft 8in man from Kyrgyzstan has amassed is the lesser experienced of the two heading into this bout but a highly dangerous one nonetheless.
The 27-year-old has unrelenting knockout power garnered from his muay thai career with inch perfect reactions that to those telegraphing could leave him susceptible to quick takedowns – but as many have found out he may fire back to quick to think about anything else.
Prediction: Fiziev via KO
Jack Hermansson v Kelvin Gastelum
Two of the more well-known fighters on this card and a bout that many have high expectations for – with 35 wins for the middleweight pair this could may well be the standout feature of the entire event.
Jack Hermansson has been on the UFC fans’ most wanted list since his last outing that resulted in a heavy loss to Jared Cannonier in September 2019 – Chris Weidman was originally an expected opponent prior to the Coronavirus pandemic taking a foothold but his current challenger may hold a higher path to get back to the top.
The Swedish fighter was riding a four fight win streak prior to his last loss so a win over his scheduled dance partner could place him right back into a contender spot, the 32-year-old possesses a wild style of off balance striking and often appears settled on the feet waiting for his opponent to engage in the clinch before then taking them down and unleashing a flurry of heavy hands or attempting a nasty choke.
Kelvin Gastelum will be hoping to avoid the cursed 0-3 in his last trio of outings, after a fight of the year contender with current champion Israel Adesanya and then losing a decision win to Darren Till – Gastelum has experienced calls for a drop down to welterweight but a win over a highly rated Hermansson would silence all doubters.
The 28-year-old may be one of the shortest stars of the 185lbs division, standing at just 5ft 9in, and while he has competed in the 170lbs weight class he appears to attain more energy and power at his natural weight. The American is often out struck in his fights in hopes of landing a strong couple of blows and despite his state championship wrestling credentials he averages just 0.8 takedowns per 15 minutes, his left hand does contain power- whether he can land against at the temple of an energetic Swede remains the question.
Prediction: Hermansson via Decision
Deiveson Figueiredo v Joseph Benavidez
UFC 251 saw two rematches in Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade along with Mox Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski – one followed its previous showing and the other changed course. This rematch here is one that is split down the middle with their previous meeting overshadowed by other narratives.
Deiveson Figueiredo became the flyweight villain when he missed weight in his first title opportunity in the UFC and then being ineligible to win the championship when he defeated his opponent – with the 125lbs weight class already in jeopardy during this time many saw this as the final nail in the coffin however the Brazilian has been handed a chance of redemption.
The 32-year-old has just one loss in his career coming via decision to Jussier Formina in March 2019 – since then he managed to put together two wins over Tim Elliott and Pantoja to earn a title opportunity before incidents halted what should have been his crowning moment.
Figueiredo entering the first outing very confident with very little to lose or gain and showcased his full skillset with an early submission attempt but was down on the scoreboard by many people’s perceptions – his unique striking coupled with a 3in reach advantage was however a constant issue and it eventually paid dividends when he put down the no.1 ranked flyweight with a well timed right straight to end the night.
Joseph Benavidez has endured 33 professional bouts with this very likely his last shot at a UFC World title opportunity– the 35-year-old has faced the very best in his division and Bantamweight but often come up short in heart-breaking fashion but now he has the opportunity to right his biggest wrong.
Despite Figueiredo earning the plaudits of the night despite his missed weight, The Beefcake from Texas endured a nasty accidental clash of heads during their meeting that opened a cut just above his left eye. As he struggled to wipe away the dripping blood into his vision he was caught and stunned despite being ahead on many mma journalists scorecards.
In their first meeting, Benavidez often stooped following his strikes allowing his opponent to walk him down and land clean as he struggled to find his balance once again – this meeting if he is to be successful, the veteran will have to stick and move, a combination in round one saw Figueiredo wobble slightly but more output will be needed in what will no doubt be an exciting affair.
Prediction: Figueiredo by decision
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