After weighing in as a back-up earlier in 2020, and making our list of 10 Middleweights the UFC Should Sign in 2021, Isi Fitikefu will indeed make his octagon debut next year. And it will come sooner than expected.
MMA Island and MMA DNA’s Marcel Dorff were among the first to report that Fitikefu will face Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC Fight Island 8 on January 20.
Australia’s Fitikefu (6-0) is undefeated as a pro, and captured the Eternal MMA middleweight championship in 2019. With four finishes among his six wins, the teammate of Robert Whittaker will return to familiar territory at UFC Fight Island 8. He made the trip to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi alongside Whittaker at UFC 254, and hit the scales as a back-up fighter for Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba 2 — though ultimately his services were not required.
Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2) is 1-1 in his UFC career thus far. He debuted back at UFC on ESPN 3 in 2019, defeating Dequan Townsend to make a strong first impression with UFC fans. However, in his sophomore outing, he was paired up with Magomed Ankalaev, which turned out to be too much, too soon. Lungiambula was stopped via head kick in the third round of their bout at UFC Moscow.
Sitting out all of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic (two bouts with Karl Roberson were scrapped when Roberson tested positive for COVID-19), Lungiambula will look to get back to work, and in the win column, on January 20. The event is set to be headlined by Michael Chiesa taking on Neil Magny, following the postponement of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards.
The following fights are currently expected for the event:
Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Lerone Murphy
Francisco Figueiredo vs. Jerome Rivera
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Viviane Araújo
Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam
Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny
Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown
Mike Jackson vs. Dean Barry
Vinicius Moreira vs. Isaac Villanueva
Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
Victoria Leonardo vs. Manon Fiorot
Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Isi Fitikefu
Mason Jones vs. Mike Davis
