UFC Fight Island 7 starts 2021 with a bang as Max Holloway will face Calvin Kattar in an exciting main event. Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dylan Bowker (0-0) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jason Payne (0-0) | | | | | |
| Doug Murray (0-0) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (0-0) | | | |  | |
| Justin Gibbons (0-0) | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (0-0) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (0-0) | | |  | | |
| Joe McDonagh (0-0) |  | | | |  |
| Ryan Fortune (0-0) | | | | | |
| Shawn Bitter (0-0) | | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (0-0) | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (0-0) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (0-0) | |  | | | |
The main event of UFC Fight Island 7, the first event of 2021, is a featherweight showdown between two of the best around as former champion Max Holloway faces Calvin Kattar. Holloway is looking for a third crack at featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and will have to go through the heavy-handed Kattar to do so. Kattar has won four of his last five fights, knocking out three of those opponents. All but one writer picked Holloway.
The co-main event is a welterweight battle seven years in the making as Carlos Condit finally crosses paths with Matt Brown. They were first supposed to fight in 2013, in their primes, but injuries have prevented the matchup from happening twice. Condit recently snapped a five-fight losing streak while Brown was knocked out in his last appearance. Condit was picked by eight of 13 writers.
Santiago Ponzinibbio finally returns to the Octagon against Li Jingliang. Ponzinibbio is on a seven-fight win streak, but hasn’t fought since 2018, with injuries keeping him out of action over the past two years. Jingliang had won seven of eight fights before running into Neil Magny earlier this year. All but one writer picked Ponzinibbio.
Joaquin Buckley looks to continue his rise against Alessio Di Chirico. Buckley had the knockout of the year in 2020 and followed it up with another impressive KO. Di Chirico is a solid fighter who has struggled recently, losing his past three fights. All but one writer picked Buckley.
Opening up the main card will be promising prospect Dusko Todorovic against Punahele Soriano. Todorovic is 10-0 with a win over Michel Pereira in his career. Soriano is 7-0 and coming off a win in his UFC debut. All but one writer picked Todorovic.
