Ultimate Fighting Championships’ first promotion at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on July 11 was a roaring success! Check out a recap of the main card fights and the 3 most impressive upset wins of the night.
UFC Fight Island UFC 251 Usman vs Masvidal Recap
UFC Fight Island – UFC 251
- When: July 11
- Where: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC Fight Island UFC 251 Recap
Main Card Recaps
Kamaru Usman beats Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision
As expected, champion Kamaru Usman beat Jorge Masvidal. But, Masvidal fought hard. He impressed big time by keeping the 1-loss Usman from summoning a knockout or submission victory. Masvidal lost via unanimous decision.
Max Holloway loses via split-decision to Alexander Volkanovski
Max Holloway prevented Alexander Volkanovski from dominating him with leg kicks like in the first fight. It still wasn’t enough. Volkanovski out struck Max to the head. The head strikes were enough to ensure a split-decision win.
Peter Yan knocks out Jose Aldo in Round 5
It took until Round 5, but Peter Yan did land a string of beautiful punches to knock out Jose Aldo. The legend showed his age for sure in this bout. Aldo should consider calling it quits. He deserves better than to get knocked out every time he steps into the Octagon.
Rose Namajunas beats Jessica Andrade via split-decision
Rose pulled out the win, but it was by no means a sure thing. This was desperately close with Namajunas out striking Jessica to the head and with overall significant strikes. Andrade provided the lone takedown of the bout, though. She also got to Rose’s body. A third rematch should be in store.
Amanda Ribas submits Paige Van Zant in Round 1
As we expected, Paige Van Zant had no shot against Amanda Ribas. The largest favorite on the UFC 251 card didn’t disappoint. Ribas submitted Van Zant via armbar at 2:21 in the first round.
Top 3 Most Impressive Prelim Wins
Jiri Prochazka knocks out Volkan Oezdimir in Round 2
Oezdimir entered this bout the favorite. All Prochazka did was knock out the chalk fighter via a fantastic right to the jaw. Volkan tumbled to the ground. If Oezdimir wants his career to get back on track, he can’t keep backing up in a straight line. That’s how Jiri got to him.
Muslim Salikhov upsets Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via split-decision
This was another ridiculously close fight. The underdog, Salikhov, pulled out the split-decision win, but based on stats Zaleski may have won. But, this fight was so close. It’s tough to know what the judges saw that led to the decision. Here’s another rematch waiting to happen.
Makwan Amirkhani submits Danny Henry in via Anaconda Choke in Round 1
Amirkhani used a knee to get to Henry. Then, he doubled Henry over, got him to the ground, and immediately provided the Anaconda Choke hold. It was a thing of beauty how Makwan used those three steps to end the fight.
