The UFC’s second event on “Fight Island” has come and gone. A rare mid-week card, UFC Fight Island 1 saw a number of exciting finishes early, enough so that the promotion opted to hand out three Performance of the Night awards. And a Fight of the Night.
The latter went to promotional newcomer and local hero Mounir Lazzez, who trains in Dubai and is the first fighter training in the region to make it to the big show. Lazzez battled it out with Abdul Razak Alhassan for three full rounds, earning a unanimous decision win in the end. The bout was definitely a firefight, and a heck of an introduction to the UFC for “The Sniper.” Enough to earn him a Fight of the Night bonus.
Alhassan, who missed weight for the fight, was ineligible for any bonus money.
Three other fighters were rewarded, however. Lerone Murphy picked up a Performance of the Night bonus for his TKO finish of Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos. While Ramos was seen as the grappling threat, it was Murphy scoring the takedown en route to the finish.
Another debuting fighter, Modestas Bukauskas, also earned a Performance of the Night honor, for his TKO of Andreas Michailidis. Things got a little weird in that one. Bukaukas delivered what appeared to be legal elbows at the end of the second round. Michailidis went to the cage and appeared to try to lean against it, but the door opened and he lost his balance. The ref would then wave off the fight while Michailidis was on the ground. He didn’t seem to protest the finish however.
Another newcomer also cashed in Wednesday, as Khamzat Chimaev picked up a Performance bonus after stopping John Phillips via D’Arce choke. Overall, a great night for the newcomers on Fight Island. All bonus winners will take home $50,000 USD for their efforts.
