UFC Fight Island 3 took place Saturday, July 25, 2020 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The card was headlined by a middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.
Closing odds are courtesy of one of the most popular Las Vegas based sportsbooks Circa Sports. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
In the main event, Robert Whittaker survived an early knockdown from Darren Till, then knocked Till down in the second round and chopped Till’s lead leg with several leg kicks to win a unanimous decision. Figueiredo was the favorite at -220 while Benavidez was +190
The third time was not the charm for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in what was likely his retirement trilogy fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, as Rua did just enough combining leg kicks, heavy strikes and occasional takedowns to steal a split decision. Rua was -225 while Nogueira was +195
Gadzhimurad Antigulov took Paul Craig down and began working to land big ground and pound, but Craig locked in a triangle choke and cinched it in to force the Russian to tap out. Craig was a -146 favorite while Antigulov was +126
Alex Oliviera landed some heavy body kicks and cut Peter Sobotta with nasty elbows along the fence en route to earning a unanimous decision victory. Oliveira was -120 while Sobotta was +100
Khamzat Chimaev easily took Rhys McKee down, then proceeded to absolutely destroy him with ground and pound while advancing from back control to full mount before the fight was mercifully stopped in the first round. Chimaev was -1200 while McKee was +795
Tom Aspinall made quick work of Jake Collier, crushing him with an early 1-2 combination and finishing him with follow up strikes in the first minute. Aspinall was a -400 favorite while Collier was -325
Mike Grundy showcased some great takedowns and submission attempts in the first round against Mofsar Evloev, but Evloev landed some beautiful strikes and showcased tremendous scrambling to win the final two rounds and take the decision. Evloev closed -172 while Grundy was +152
Tanner Boser connected with a looping right hook to the eye and followed up with ground strikes to put away Raphael Passoa in the second round. Boser closed -250 with the return on Passoa +215
Pannie Kianzad showcased her superior striking technique against Bethe Correia in a fun slugfest that saw both women eat some big shots and keep moving forward. Kianzad was a -156 favorite while Correia was +136
Ramazan Emeev utilized a combination of slick striking and takedowns to earn a hard-fought decision against a game Niklas Stolze. Emeev came through as a -420 favorite while Stolze was a +340 underdog.
In the opening bout of the evening, Nathaniel Wood completely controlled all aspects of the fight against John Constaneda, easily winning a unanimous decision. Wood was -455. Constaneda was +365
Underdogs that Won
Alexander Gustafsson landed some good strikes, but Fabricio Werdum was able to drag the fight to the floor, where he tapped Gus with an armbar. Werdum was +230 while Gustafsson was -270
Carla Esparza took Marina Rodriguez down repeatedly, landing effective ground and pound for three rounds, but she did get outstruck on the feet and perplexingly went for leg locks twice, giving up position and eating shots. In the end, the judges sided with Esparza via split decision. Esparza was a +175 underdog while Rodriguez was -200
Alexandre Pantoja started strong with powerful and aggressive striking, but Askar Askarov turned it up in rounds two and three with decent striking of his own plus takedowns to earn a unanimous decision. Askarov was a +165 underdog while Pantoja was -190
Jai Herbert and Francisco Trinaldo both battered each other in the first two rounds, but Trinaldo knocked Herbert out with a big left hand, then was allowed to hit him five more times on the ground before the ref stopped it. Trinaldo was victorious as a +107 underdog while Herbert was -127
Jesse Ronson returned to the UFC up a weight class and pulled off a shocker, dropping Nicolas Dalby with a short left hook, then finishing him with a rear naked choke in the first round. Ronson was a +255 underdog while Dalby was -300
