Fight Island 5- Results and What's Next
- Combat Sports Journal
- Oct 14, 2020
- 6 min read
For the second event from this website being live, I ended with a record of 8-5, getting 4 of those fights perfect. This brings my total record up to 15-8-1.
Here are the results from this past event and a breakdown of what I'd like to see next.
Main Event:
Cory Sandhagen defeats Marlon Moraes by spinning back kick KO in round 2.
In a shocking KO win, Cory Sandhagen gets the huge win over the #1 bantamweight contender. Usually by beating the #1 contender would give you a title shot. So while this does make that a viable option, I think this pushes Aljamain Sterling into that #1 contender spot. Allow me to explain. Prior to this weekend, Sterling fought Sandhagen back in June with a quick first round submission victory. So I would give Aljo the first title shot against the new champ Petr Yan, which leaves my now #2 ranked Sandhagen. For me, there's two fights I'd love to see Sandhagen in. Frankie Edgar picked up an August victory in his bantamweight debut, earning him the #5 spot (1 spot below Sandhagen before this event). Edgar being a big name, and 1-0 at this new weight class would be an excellent fight against my now #2 ranked Sandhagen. The other fight I'd like to see for Sandhagen would be against TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw is the former bantamweight champion, who has not fought January last year due to a USADA suspension. He is elligible to return in January next year, making the timeline line up pretty well with a fight against Sandhagen. Either way, Sandhagen against Frankie Edgar, or TJ Dillashaw would be great next fights to make, with the winner likely getting a title shot against the winner of Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling (assuming that is the next fight for the belt).
Marlon Moraes:
For Marlon Moraes, I think bouts against Pedro Munhoz or Dominick Cruz would be good next steps. Munhoz and Cruz are both coming off a loss as well as Moraes, and both are in the middle tier of the ranked bantamweight fighters. Either of the opponents would be an exciting style match up against Moraes, as well as good competition to see where Moraes fits into the bantamweight picture again.
Co-Main Event:
Edson Barboza defeats Makwan Amirkhani by unanimous decision.
Barboza picks up his first win in his new weight class of 145 lbs. Barboza called out some of the top ranked guys including Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, and even former champ Max Holloway. I think this is too big of a step right now for Barboza given his 1-3 record in his last 4, and to go further, 2-5 record in his last 7. Barboza is very talented obviously, and has the skills to become a ranked fighter, I'm not saying he wouldn't be competitive in those top ranked fights. I just think with a 1-1 start at a new weight class, he needs another fight before moving up against the top ranked guys. Up and coming Sodiq Yusuff was actually the original opponent for Barboza, who is ranked two spots ahead of Barboza right now, and that is a fight I would love to see next. Cub Swanson would also be an interesting next opponent for Barboza. Swanson is a big name fighter which would make a bout against Barboza be placed high on a card, maybe even a co-main event in the current times. Swanson also has a similar recent record to Barboza, being 1-4 in his last 5. Another possible fight for Barboza could come against prelim winner, Giga Chikadze. With the kickboxing skills of the the former Glory kickboxer Chikadze, a fight against Barboza would be an incredible, fast paced, striking match up that would be a great show for fans.
Marcin Tybura defeats Ben Rothwell by unanimous decision.
For Marcin Tybura, I'd like to see a fight against Blagoi Ivanov next. Ivanov is currently on a two fight losing streak, with his most recent bout against Augusto Sakai. Tybura's last loss was also against Sakai. Also interesting to note that Tybura's last three wins came by decision, while every fight for Ivanov in the UFC has gone the distance. It would be great to see if either of these fighters could get a stoppage victory when facing each other.
Dricus Du Plessis defeats Markus Perez by KO in round 1.
Du Plessis earned his first victory in the UFC with a big KO win over Markus Perez. Perez was going to spin for an elbow, and Du Plessis caught him with a perfectly timed left hook, dropping him before he could spin. If it were not for Joaquin Buckley's earlier KO of the year contender kick, this likely could have earned Du Plessis a performance KO bonus. That being said, I think a fight against Joaquin Buckley for Du Plessis would make perfect sense. Both earned a big KO victory and are relatively new to the UFC. That is a main card worthy fight that would likely have some big hype due to the huge popularity of Buckley's KO win.
Tom Aspinall defeats Alan Baudot by KO in round 1.
Aspinall makes it 2 wins in about 2 and a half minutes of total time in the Octagon. Aspinall has made it look easy in his first two fights, I think it's time to give him some bigger names and tougher fights. I think his original opponent Sergey Spivak would be exactly that, a little bit bigger name against a more experienced fighter. Let's see how that fight goes. There was also mention of Aspinall being placed against earlier winner in Chris Daukaus who also picked up a quick first round KO. If both are ready to go and looking for a quick turn around, I'm all for that fight also.
Ilia Topuria defeats Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision.
Topuria gets the victory over hot prospect Youssef Zalal. Topuria was not the original opponent for Zalal in this event. Topuria got the win, and now he can steal his thunder, I would give Topuria a fight against the original opponent of Zalal, which was to be against Seung Woo Choi.
Prelims:
Tom Breese defeats KB Bhullar by KO in round 1.
Tom Breese picks up the first round KO victory against the Canadian newcomer. I'd like to see Breese get a fight against his original opponent, Roman Kopylov.
Chris Daukaus defeats Rodrigo Nascimento by KO in round 1.
A lot of the heavyweights with not too much UFC experience are all booked up right now, so fight options for Daukaus might be slim. Unless he stays ready in the event a short notice fight comes up. That being said, Tom Aspinall as I mentioned above would be a great quick turn around fight for Chris Daukaus. Both picked up first round KO victories over the weekend, and both likely could compete again very soon.
Joaquin Buckley defeats Impa Kasanganay by spinning back kick KO in round 2.
Jouaquin Buckley got a huge KO win, that is being hailed as possibly the greatest KO in the UFC ever. Go check out the highlights if you missed it, definitely worth a Fight Pass subscription to see it! Funny enough, Kasanganay was not the original opponent for Buckley. That being said, a bout against his original opponent Abu Azaitar would be a good next move. I also would like to see a match up against main card winner Dricus Du Plessis who won his debut with a big first round KO.
Tony Kelley defeats Amir AlQaisi by unanimous decision.
Tony Kelley picks up the decision win to earn his first UFC victory. I'd like to see him fight against last weekend winner, Kyler Phillips.
Fight Pass Prelims:
Giga Chikadze defeats Omar Morales by unanimous decision.
The former Glory Kickboxing tournament finalist, Chikadze picked up his fourth UFC win. One possible opponent for him could be the first ever Slovak fighter in the UFC, Ludovit Klein, who recently picked up a head kick KO victory in his Octagon debut. Another direction for Chikadze to go would be against higher ranked fighters to start building a bigger name for himself. One possible opponent this route could come, as I mentioned above, against co-main event winner, Edson Barboza. With Barboza's speed and striking skills, and the well known knockout of the year wheel kick KO on his highlight reel, a fight between Barboza and the former Glory kickboxer would be an incredible striking matchup.
Tracey Cortez defeats Stephanie Egger by unanimous decision.
Cortez moves to 2-0 inside the UFC picking up the decision victory over newcomer Stephanie Egger. Egger was not the original opponent for Cortez this event, and I'd like to see Cortez get a fight against Bea Malecki, who was to be her original opponent.
Tagir Ulanbekov defeats Bruno Silva by unanimous decision.
Tagir Ulanbekov earns the victory in his UFC debut. He only has one loss in his career, which was a majority decision against fellow UFC debutant Zhalgas Zhumagulov. Zhumagulov lost his UFC debut. That fight was for the flyweight championship of Russia's Fight Nights promotion. I'd love to see that rematch for their next fight.
View my results on Tapology here -->
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