The UFC returns to the infamous UFC Fight Island for a series of three cards. The cards are stacked throughout including plenty of British fighters. We looked at all of the British fighters who took part in the previous UFC Fight Island cards and there was a whole host of impressive performances. We take a look at the British fighters competing on the three upcoming cards on Fight Island and how they’re likely to perform.
UFC FIGHT ISLAND
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar
Tom Breese
Tom Breese is almost the forgotten man at 185lbs. Having suffered with personal issues that have kept him out of the cage on a number of occasions, he returned on Fight Island in October in emphatic fashion. Notching a knockout victory in the first round which he was awarded performance of the night honours for, Breese got back in the win column.
This time on Fight Island he takes on Omari Akhmedov in what is certainly the toughest test of Breese’s career. The Russian is coming off a loss to Chris Weidman but showed some improvements in his game. Prior to running into Weidman, Akhmedov was unbeaten in his last six. This is certainly a tough test for Breese, but if the British media is to be believed, Breese has what it takes to hang with the best at middleweight. If he can keep the mental side of his game in check, he’s poised for a big 2021. This fight was scheduled for the first UFC Fight Island card of 2021, however, it has been postponed and rescheduled four days later.
Mike Grundy
Mike Grundy was scheduled to take part in this card, however, he tested positive for COVID-19 and has been replaced with exciting up and comer, Movsar Evloev.
Across the octagon from Evloev will be Nik Lentz. ‘The Carny’ is 3-4 in his last seven and will be looking to snap a two-fight skid. The scheduled bout has been moved to UFC 257.
UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Magny
Although this one was meant to be headlined by Brit, Leon Edwards, we’ll have to wait to see him back in action. Despite this, there is still British interest on the card.
Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy should be 2-0 in the UFC. Unfortunately, he is 1-0-1 as an awful decision went against him and he was handed a draw in a fight that he won. Despite this, he bounced back in an emphatic way on Fight Island previously, notching a huge knockout victory. His victory earned him a performance of the night bonus and he takes a lot of momentum into his upcoming fight.
The experienced Brazillian, Douglas Andrade will look to stunt Murphy’s progress at 145lbs. At 26-3, Andrade has only lost to Rob Font and Petr Yan since 2017. ‘The Miracle’ Murphy will be looking to get the biggest name of his career to date out of there and make a run at the top 15 with a victory on Fight Island.
Mason Jones
For those of you who don’t know, Mason Jones is arguably the hottest prospect coming out of the UK. The CageWarriors champ champ stands at 10-0 with seven finishes including two in his last two fights. Jones was also active during the pandemic, competing in two title fights, finishing both fights in the first round.
Mike Davis takes on Jones on Fight Island. Davis is 3-1 in his last four, including being 1-1 in his UFC career thus far. He’s been out of action since 2019 having withdrawn from two scheduled bouts in 2020.
UFC 257
The highlight of this series of UFC Fight Island cards is certainly UFC 257. It features the return of Conor McGregor who takes on Dustin Poirier in a rematch of their 2014 bout. Featured on this card is Brit, Joanne Calderwood.
Calderwood is 14-5 in her professional MMA career and was set to face the 125lbs champion, Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 250 last year. Following an injury to the champion, Calderwood decided to stay active, which would turn out to be the wrong decision. She lost in the first round via armbar to Jennifer Maia, leading to Maia getting the shot at the belt.
Across the octagon from Calderwood will be former title contender, Jessica Eye. Eye is 1-1 since getting brutally knocked out by the champion in 2019. Most recently she put in a lacklustre performance in a main event slot against Cynthia Calvillo back in June. The winner of this one positions themselves extremely well in the flyweight division, especially Calderwood who is yet to test her skills against Shevchenko.
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