A rematch with the flyweight belt on the line headlines UFC Fight Island 2 and Cageside Press has its picks ready.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fortune (68-27) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Keith Shillan (65-29) |  | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (59-36) | | |  | |  |
| Joe McDonagh (58-37) | | | | | |
| Ryan Jarrell (23-16) | |  | | | |
| Mike McClory (27-19) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (54-41) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (35-28) | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (52-43) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (49-41) | | | | | |
| Dylan Bowker (44-37) | | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (32-27) | | | |  | |
The main event of UFC Fight Island 2 pits Deiveson Figueiredo against Joseph Benavidez for the flyweight title once again and hopefully someone will walk away with the belt this time. Figueiredo won the first fight, but missed weight so the title remained vacant. He tested positive for COVID-19 leading up to this fight, but remained on the card after quarantining. Benavidez was favored slightly with seven picks to five.
The co-main event is an intriguing middleweight battle between Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson. Gastelum is trying to get back into the win column after losing in a Fight of the Year candidate title shot against Israel Adesanya followed by a split decision loss to Darren Till. Hermansson was quickly rising with four straight wins, but was knocked out by Jared Cannonier in his last fight. All but one writer picked Gastelum.
Marc Diakiese and Rafael Fiziev square off in a true striking battle. Diakiese has turned things around with two straight wins after a three-fight losing streak. Fiziev is a Muay Thai specialist and a late replacement for Alan Patrick. He is 1-1 in the Octagon thus far. All but two writers picked Diakiese.
“The Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski will make her fourth UFC appearance against Luana Carolina. Carolina hasn’t fought since May 2019, when she won her promotional debut against Priscila Cachoeira. Lipski fell to JoJo Calderwood and Molly McCann in her first two UFC fights, but bounced back in her last contest. All but two writers picked Lipski.
Alexandre Pantoja and Askar Askarov open up the UFC Fight Island 2 main card in a great flyweight battle. Pantoja is one of the more successful flyweights on the roster with a 6-2 record, coming off a knockout against Matt Schnell. Askarov came to the promotion as the ACB Flyweight Champion and is since 1-0-1. All but one writer picked Pantoja.