UFC Fight Island 8 took place today (Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The card was headlined by a welterweight bout between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar.
Closing odds are courtesy of one of the most popular Las Vegas based sportsbooks Circa Sports. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
In the main event of the evening, Max Holloway put on a historic striking display against Calvin Kattar, landing the most blows in a fight in UFC history en route to winning one of the most lopsided five-round decisions ever. Holloway was -160 while Kattar was +140
Isaac Villanueva outstruck Vinicius Moreira, then completely flatlined the Brazilian with a brutal right hand early in the second round to score his first UFC victory. Villanueva was a -107 favorite while Moreira was -103
Viviane Araujo completely dominated Roxanne Modafferi over the course of three rounds both in the striking and in the grappling, easily winning a unanimous decision. Araujo was -300 while Modafferi was +250
Matt Schnell landed more shots than Tyson Nam in the first two rounds, then survived a surge from Nam in the third round to eek out a close split decision victory. Schnell was -112 while Nam was -108
Lerone Murphy battered Douglas Silva de Andrade’s lead leg over the course of three rounds, winning the striking and surviving a few scary grappling exchanges to win a unanimous decision. Murphy was -325 while Andrade was +265
Su Mudaerji took the fight to Zarrukh Adashev, landing strong combinations to outpoint the Uzbekistan native en route to a unanimous decision. Mudaerji came through as a -550 favorite while Adashev was +425
Ricky Simon utilized a combination of high volume striking and takedowns to wear down Gaetano Pirrello, eventually scoring a tapout via arm triangle choke in the second round. Simon was -525 while Pirrello was +415
Dalcha Langiambula took the fight to Markus Perez, avoiding extended ground exchanges and landing heavy blows over the course of three rounds to earn a unanimous decision. Langiambula was -167 while Perez was +147
Francisco Figueredo started strong against Jerome Rivera, combining solid striking with slick takedowns. Figueredo slowed down in the third round, but Rivera couldn’t make up for the first two rounds as Fig won the unanimous decision. Figueredo was -145 while Rivera was +125
Mike Davis and Mason Jones put on one of the most entertaining bouts of the night, blasting each other with heavy shots over three rounds, but it was Davis who earned the nod from the judges. Davis was -157, while Jones was +137
Umar Nurmagomedov lived up to the hype, scoring takedowns against Sergey Morozov and eventually sinking in a second round rear naked choke to tap out the Kazakh fighter. Nurmagomedov was -500 was while Morozov was +400
In the opening bout of the evening, Manon Fiorot put on a striking clinic against Victoria Leonardo, ultimately finishing Leonardo with a second round head kick and follow-up strikes. Fiorot was -230 while Leonardo was +190.
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Michael Chiesa utilized his superior grappling to secure dominant top position against Neil Magny to score a one-sided unanimous decision. Chiesa was +132 while Magny was -152
Warlley Alves took the fight to Mounir Lazzez, taking him down, then finishing him with a series of brutal body kicks to the liver that folded the Tunisian in half and set up a ground and pound stoppage. Alves was +230 while Lazzez was -270
Omari Akhmedov scored repeated takedowns against Tom Breese, eventually taking advantage of a huge opening to sink in an arm triangle choke and force Breese to tap out in the second round. Akhmedov was +127 while Breese was -147
