UFC Fight Island concludes tonight with the Fight Island 3 fight card, a card that is stacked with fights all over. Dana even treated us to a bigger card, with 8 prelim fights and 7 main card bouts. From a blockbuster main event, to two legends fighting in the co-main, to Alexander Gustafsson making his heavyweight debut, the UFC is making sure Fight Island goes out with a bang!
Prelims:
Nathaniel Wood (W) vs John Castaneda – Bantamweight Bout
To kick the fight card off, we have a bout in the bantamweight division between highly rated prospect Nathaniel Wood vs John Castaneda. A fun first round with Wood opening up the round with some nice leg kicks as he was looking to angle a right hand in on Castaneda’s head. Castaneda was trying for some leg kicks himself and enjoyed some success with a few left hooks. Wood started to succeed with some more right hands and even more leg kicks, and near the end of the round finished with a nice trip takedown. 10-9 Wood for me.
Castaneda came out for the second round with a lot more urgency, throwing a lot of combos in quick succession to see if he could break the guard of Wood. Wood went back to the leg kicks and you could tell they were really hurting Castaneda. Wood pinned Castaneda against the cage and tried to work in the clinch, followed by some really nice combos to end the round. 20-18 Wood for me but the second was closer.
Round 3 was all Wood as he picked Castaneda apart, leg kicks were back again and Wood found some real success with them, stopping the rythym of Castaneda. Left hooks, right hands and some lovely, high-volume combos followed for Wood who was just picking Castaneda apart. Wood finished the fight with a takedown and a very impressive performance. 30-27 Wood for me and all 3 judges agreed with me.
Ramazan Emeev (W) vs Niklas Stolze – Welterweight Bout
Up next is a battle between welterweights as Ramazan Emeev looks to continue his UFC run whilst welcoming Niklas Stolze to the UFC octagon. Stolze opened up the first round with some nice calf kicks but Emeev answered back with an early takedown. Stolze did well to get back to his feet quickly but Emeev kept the pressure on and scored a second takedown, and almost turned it into a guillotine. Stolze seemed to go for a guillotine but ended up giving dominant position to Emeev. Stolze ended the round almost KOing Emeev with a nasty knee to the head as Emeev shot for a final takedown. 10-9 Emeev maybe, tough one to call with the ending.
Round 2 started and Emeev started the round with more intensity, but not with any wrestling but with some nice striking, with a nice powerful right finding its way through. Stolze seemed to really conserve his energy this round, only really throwing a powerful calf kick but not enough volume. Emeev started measuring his power with some high-volume combos and finished the round with a really nice right hand with Stolze’s back against the cage wall. 20-18 Emeev for me, possibly 19-19 though.
Round 3 started with Emeev instantly shooting in for a double leg takedown, Stolze defended it but got pushed against the cage where Emeev hit a brutal knee to the head. Stolze started to throw his hands more after that and even attempted a flying knee. Emeev kept the pressure up and managed to get Stolze up against the cage wall and threw some nasty knees to the body and head. Stolze shot for a guillotine at the end of the fight but the bell came and Emeev won the fight 30-27 for me. The judges gave it to Emeev too.
Bethe Correia vs Pannie Kianzad (W) – Women’s Bantamweight Bout
The first women’s fight of the night is up next as 13th ranked contender Bethe Correia takes on former Cage Warriors champion Pannie Kianzad. Kianzad was fantastic throughout this first round, with some really powerful and technical shots that were cracking Correia all round, left hooks, right hands, and knees to the face. Correia tried for a couple of single legs but Kianzad defended them well. 10-9 Kianzad.
Kianzad seemed to open up the second round with as much success as she had in the 1st, cracking Correia with some great, technical shots. That was until Kianzad lost her balance and gave up dominant position for Correia to get some nice ground and pound in, although she allowed Kianzad to get to her feet to easily. From there Kianzad cracked Correia with some more powerful shots and ended the round nicely. 20-18 Kianzad for me.
Round 3 was just an absolute war as both women threw some hellacious hooks and shots to the other. Kianzade was hit with a nasty left hook which caught her attention but she answered back with some nasty shots herself. Correia was looking more and more compromised and Kianzade almost put her away with a nice 3 piece combo. Correia got the takedown near the end of the round but couldn’t get the finish she needed as the bell rang. 30-27 Kianzade for me and the judges agree as they give the decision win to Kianzade.
Continued on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports
