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Wedged in between the UFC’s debut on ABC and Conor McGregor's return at UFC 257, UFC Fight Island 8 was always going to struggle for the spotlight. In the end, the event – which saw Michael Chiesa outpoint Neil Magny in the main event – was simply a run-of-the-mill UFC show.
Of the 14 fights on the card, six of them were finished before the final buzzer, and there were definitely some cool moments on tap. However, whether anyone will be speaking about this show at all once the McGregor circus comes to town at the weekend is doubtful.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Island 8: Chiesa vs. Magny.
#1 Best: Alves shows flashes of his massive potential again
Although Michael Chiesa picked up tonight’s biggest win, arguably the most impressive showing came from Warlley Alves in the co-main event. The winner of TUF Brazil 3 nailed Mounir Lazzez – a vaunted striker – with a trio of vicious body kicks that folded him for a TKO in the first round.
The finish was reminiscent, in fact, of how Anthony Pettis set up his win over Benson Henderson for the UFC Lightweight title back in 2013.
Alves has always had a ton of potential. The Brazilian was pegged by Chael Sonnen as a possible future champion in 2014 and even beat Colby Covington in one of his earlier UFC fights. But since then, he’s had more downs than ups.
However, tonight was his best showing in a long time. And at 30 years old, there’s still the possibility that he makes a late run at the elite in the UFC’s Welterweight division.
A win over Lazzez won’t get him the fight with Nate Diaz he asked for tonight, but it should keep him moving forward. And with the UFC making tons of roster cuts recently, Alves should now be fine – making him a big winner.
#1 Worst: Chiesa fails to capitalize on the UFC’s spotlight
Okay, so it’d be completely unfair to claim that Michael Chiesa’s main event victory over Neil Magny was a boring fight. The fight did go the distance, but all five rounds featured plenty of interesting grappling exchanges and even some back-and-forth action at times, despite Chiesa’s dominance.
However, it’s also hard to shake off the feeling that Maverick missed out on a chance to really mark himself out as a potential top contender in the UFC’s Welterweight division.
Chiesa dominated Magny on the ground from the off, and aside from the odd moment of success for The Haitian Sensation, this was basically a one-sided fight. But Maverick also never came close to finishing Magny. And given that the likes of Santiago Ponzinibbio and Rafael Dos Anjos had finished him, Chiesa’s showing ended up lacking some pizzazz.
Given how much the UFC values loud personalities and trash talk, it’s likely that Chiesa will remain the UFC Welterweight division’s overlooked fighter despite this win. This was a chance for him to really stand out from the pack, and he didn’t quite manage it.
#2 Best: Villanueva scores an epic knockout at the third time of asking
Coming into tonight’s show, Ike Villanueva had his back to the wall. He’d lost his first two UFC bouts via TKO. And given the UFC’s current roster trimming, it was likely that had he lost tonight, his UFC career would’ve been over.
However, in his debut in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division, Hurricane Ike not only won, but he also picked up one of the best finishes of the night.
Faced with submission expert Vinicius Moreira, Villanueva clearly knew his best path to victory lay on the feet. And after keeping the fight standing in the first round and clearly landing the better shots, Hurricane Ike finished things violently in the second.
A lazy kick attempt from Moreira was countered by a clean right hand from Villanueva. And the Brazilian looked unconscious as he hit the deck – giving Hurricane Ike a walk-off KO for his first UFC win.
Will Villanueva now find himself in UFC title contention at 205lbs? Probably not, but he saved his UFC career with this win, and what more can you ask for, really?
#2 Worst: The run of decisions on the prelim card slowed things down
The fact that the UFC tends to show its entire cards these days is often a double-edged sword. Sometimes, fans are treated to thrilling clashes between some of the UFC’s more unheralded fighters on the prelim card. But on the flip-side, sometimes a show can be dragged to a halt by a series of slower fights.
Tonight’s show fell largely into the latter category. After starting the night off with two straight finishes, we were then given four decisions in a row, with only the Lightweight clash between Mike Davis and Mason Jones being really outstanding.
Sure, the Dalcha Lungiambula/Markus Perez and Sumudaerji/Zarrukh Adashev fights had a handful of standout moments. However, realistically, by the time Ricky Simon and Gaetano Pirrello stepped into the Octagon, it felt like the show had been going for days.
There’s nothing the UFC can do about this, of course. It’s near impossible to predict whether a fight will be fun or not. However, on a show like this that lacks name value, it’s hard to keep watching when the action slows down.
#2 Best: Umar Nurmagomedov keeps the family business rolling in the UFC
Current UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is not quite officially retired, but the likelihood of him returning to the UFC now seems unlikely. However, it looks like we’ll be hearing the Nurmagomedov name for some time to come.
Tonight saw the UFC debut of Khabib’s cousin Umar, and just like his cousin, he made good on his first fight with the promotion.
Faced with Sergey Morozov, Nurmagomedov piled the pressure on his opponent in the first round of their fight and then continued where he left off in the second.
It was clear that Morozov was beginning to wilt, and after hurting him with a head kick, Nurmagomedov took him down and found his way into back control. From there, the finish felt academic, as the Dagestani slapped on a rear-naked choke and left Morozov unconscious.
Will Umar be able to follow in his cousin’s footsteps and become a UFC champion? It’s too early to tell, of course, but this was definitely a good way to start his UFC career and was one of the standout moments of the night.
