After a very successful start to Fight Island, the UFC Fight Island train rolls on as one of three fight night cards takes place Wednesday night with the main event featuring two highly rated featherweights in Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige. However, before we get to the main card, let’s take a look at the first 3 bouts set for the prelims.
Jack Shore vs Aaron Phillips – Bantamweight Bout
The bantamweight division will get the prelims started with British fighter Jack Shore taking on American Aaron Phillips. Jack Shore made his UFC debut back in late 2019 and really impressed fans with his submission win in the 3rd round against Nohelin Hernandez, a performance that won him a performance of the night award. Shore now has an 11 fight win streak across all brands and looks a good selection to make it 12 in this fight against Phillips.
Aaron Phillips is a very surprising name to see on a UFC fight card, given we last saw him inside the octagon 6 years ago in 2014. Phillips lost that fight via decision, alongside another defeat in the fight before that. Phillips wasn’t planning on coming back either, he took the fight on short notice. Phillips hasn’t really impressed in a specific style of fighting, so it’ll be seriously interesting to see what he attempts to do against Shore.
My pick for this is a pretty obvious one and that’s Jack Shore, he’s on an 11 win streak across all companies and really impressed during his debut in the UFC, partner that alongside the fact he’s fighting someone who hasn’t fought in 6 years and is taking the fight on short notice should make him the easiest pick of the night.
Diana Belbita vs Liana Jojua – Women’s Flyweight Bout
The women are up next on the prelims and it’s in the flyweight division as Diana Belbita takes on Liana Jojua. Diana Belbita made her UFC debut back in late 2019 against Molly McCann and lost the fight via decision, although she did give the highly-rated prospect a pretty good fight. Belbita will be looking to bounce back from that defeat with a win here.
Liana Jojua made her UFC debut back at the UFC 242 PPV in September 2019 and lost the fight via KO/TKO against Sarah Moras. Jojua showed her wrestling style in parts during the fight, taking Moras down twice, however she was outclassed on the feet and she’ll need to do much better against Belbita if she wants to win this fight.
This one is a close fight to call, both women lost during their UFC debuts but both showcased why they were signed to the UFC in the first place. Jojua will look to take the fight to ground whilst Belbita will try her best to keep the fight upright and outclass Jojua on the feet as Moras did. I’m going Belbita with this one.
Jared Gordon vs Chris Fishgold – Featherweight Bout
The final prelim fight I will be taking a look at during this preview is a featherweight fight between Jared Gordon and Chris Fishgold. Gordon’s cornermen unfortunately all tested positive for COVID-19 and Gordon was left without a corner until UFC legend and commentator Paul Felder offered to corner him and leave his commentary duties for his fight.
Gordon, at times, has shown some real potential in the UFC but has never found any consistency during his career. He’s coming off a loss against ranked contender Charles Oliveira via a first-round KO but that’s just how Gordon fights, he goes to the middle and throws down with his opponent. Gordon will be hoping a win here will be the start of a string of wins.
Chris Fishgold has been pretty unlucky in terms of his UFC career so far, he went up against Calvin Kattar in his debut, who is now headlining the event and lost in the first round. He then bounced back with a win in February 2019 via submission and then lost in June 2019 against Amirkhani would fantastically just last weekend at UFC 251. Fishgold has 13 wins in his career via submission and he will be relying on that skillset in this fight against a brawler.
This fight is pretty intriguing as these two have shown potential in their fights but have faced some class opponents early in their UFC careers. Gordon will need to keep the fight on the feet if he stands any chance of winning, whilst Fishgold will be desperately trying to take him to the floor and submit him. I’m going to go with Gordon here, I think his striking game is just good enough to catch Fishgold as he heads in for a takedown.
Mandatory Credit: Jason Da Silva-USA TODAY Sportsh
