A fiery bantamweight main event headlines UFC Fight Island 5 and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (112-58) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Ryan Fortune (111-59) |  | | | | |  |
| Josh Evanoff (91-67) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (95-75) | | |  |  | | |
| Justin Gibbons (74-60) | | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (91-74) | | | | |  | |
| Dylan Bowker (83-69) | | | | | | |
The main event of UFC Fight Island 5 pits top five 135ers against each other as Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen battle. Moraes is 5-1 in his last six and is coming off a controversial split decision victory over Jose Aldo that resulted in a title shot for Aldo. The loss came in a stellar title fight against Henry Cejudo. Sandhagen is looking to rebound from his first UFC loss, a first-round submission against top contender Aljamain Sterling. Moraes was picked by four of seven writers.
The co-main event is Edson Barboza taking on a short-notice opponent in Makwan Amirkhani. Barboza has struggled recently, losing five of his last six. Amirkhani, on the other hand, has won three of four with a pair of submissions. All but one writer picked Barboza.
Heavyweights clash on the main card as Ben Rothwell takes on Marcin Tybura. After a three-fight losing streak, Rothwell has won a pair of fights. Tybura is also on a two-fight win streak coming into UFC Fight Island 5. All but two writers picked Rothwell.
Dricus Du Plessis makes his long awaited UFC debut against Markus Perez. Du Plessis is 14-2 in his career with all of wins coming by stoppage, winning the KSW and EFC championships in his career. Perez is 2-3 in the Octagon, alternating wins and losses. All but two writers picked Du Plessis.
Tom Aspinall returns to the Octagon after his thunderous debut to take on the debuting Alan Baudot. Baudot is 8-1 in his career and has never reached the final bell. Aspinall has also never heard the final bell and has an 8-2 record. Aspinall was unanimously picked.
Opening up the main card will be promising prospect Youssef Zalal against undefeated Georgian Ilia Topuria. Zalal has impressed since joining the UFC, outstriking his three opponents thoroughly. Topuria is a grappling specialist with seven submissions and one knockout on his 8-0 resume. All but one writer picked Zalal.
