Staff Writers	Chimaev vs. McKee	Oliveira vs. Sobotta	Craig vs. Antigulov	Esparza vs. Rodriguez	Werdum vs. Gustafsson	Rua vs. Nogueira	Whittaker vs. Till
Ryan Fortune (73-31)
Keith Shillan (70-34)
Jay Anderson (63-41)
Joe McDonagh (60-44)
Mike McClory (31-24)
Josh Evanoff (58-46)
Dan Doherty (54-45)
Gabriel Gonzalez (55-46)
Eddie Law (38-34)
Dylan Bowker (47-43)
Justin Gibbons (35-33)
Ryan Jarrell (24-24)

The main event (and seventh main card fight) of UFC Fight Island 3 is a great middleweight matchup between Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. This will be Whittaker’s first appearance since losing the middleweight belt to Israel Adesanya in October 2019. For Till, he’ll be looking to improve to 2-0 since moving up to middleweight. Whittaker was unanimously picked.

The co-main event is a legend’s circuit matchup as Shogun Rua battles Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for the third time. Rua won the first two bouts and is 4-1-1 in his last six fights. Nogueira has struggled more, going 2-4 in his last six. All but two writers picked Shogun.

Alexander Gustafsson returns from retirement to battle Fabricio Werdum. It will be Gustafsson’s first fight at heavyweight and his first appearance since June 2019. Without mincing words, Werdum has looked bad in his last two fights, losing to Aleksei Oleinik and Alexander Volkov. Gustafsson was unanimously picked.

Former champion (there are four on this card) Carla Esparza looks to keep her streak alive against Marina Rodriguez. Esparza has won three straight fights with a controversial decision against Michelle Waterson being the latest. Rodriguez has an odd 2-0-2 record in the UFC with an impressive win over Tecia Torres. Esparza was slightly favored with seven picks to five.

Paul Craig looks to get back in the win column against Gadzhimurad Antigulov. Craig fought to a draw with Shogun Rua last time out and alternated wins and losses in his five fights prior. Antigulov has fought once a year since signing with the UFC in 2016 and has lost his last two fights after winning his first two. Craig was picked by eight of 12 writers.

Peter Sobotta steps into the Octagon for the first time since 2018 against Alex Oliveira. Sobotta debuted with the promotion in 2014 and is 4-2 since then. Oliveira recently snapped a three-fight losing streak with a decision over Max Griffin. All but three writers picked Cowboy Oliveira.

Opening up the seven-fight main card is rising star Khamzat Chimaev welcoming highly-touted prospect Rhys McKee to the Octagon. Chimaev blew people away in his debut just 10 days ago and earned his “Khabib 2.0” nickname. McKee is a Cage Warriors standout and has finished all 10 of his career wins. Chimaev was unanimously picked.

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Demian Maia Grapples His Way To Second Straight Win

Demian Maia is one of the most seasoned vets in the 170 pound division. He took a tumble after his title fight in 2017 with losing three straight losses. Now, Maia is back with a win streak. He might have his best years behind him, but Maia has a bunch of gas left in the tank.

Anthony Rocco Martin said himself that this one was a tough one to swallow. While it was a majority decision in favor of Maia, he still showed he can compete with the best. He can rebound from losing his 4 fight win streak real easy if he stays where he needs to be mentally.

Next opponent for Demian Maia: Santiago Ponzinibbio, Neil Magny

Next opponent for Anthony Rocco Martin: Mike Perry, Curtis Millender

Joseph Benavidez Defines Statement Win

Joseph Benavidez went out this last Saturday night and did the exact damn thing he needed to do. With his second round KO of the streaking Jussier Formiga, it’s clear he’s earned a title shot against the double champ, Henry Cejudo. Unfortunately, Cejudo is out for the year. This might call for a legitimate interim title fight.

Formiga loses his win streak just shy of his first ever title shot. Unfortunately it was all Benavidez in this fight, and Jussier didn’t get to show off many of his skills. With the flyweight division in question it’s uncertain if Formiga will ever get that shot after UFC Minneapolis.

Next opponent for Joseph Benavidez: Henry Cejudo, Pantoja/Figueiredo winner

Next opponent for Jussier Formiga: Tim Elliot, Rogerio Bontorin

Francis Ngannou Still Punches Hard

Francis Ngannou knocked out his third straight opponent at UFC on ESPN 3. This most recent effort was his longest bout in that streak with 1:11 of cage time. Still, he managed to find the power to finish Junior Dos Santos in the first round. Ngannou is in a weird spot with DC and Stipe about to fight and DC’s career nearing it’s end. He will have to wait for the fight to play out to see who he fights next.

Junior Dos Santos didn’t look bad in this fight. With the leg strikes that had Francis buckling, he mixed up his attack well. He made one mistake and threw a big over hand that had him hurt easy. The ref did a good job stopping the fight before Dos Santos was majorly hurt. Despite the gaffe, he can rebound quick after his loss at UFC Minneapolis.

Next opponent for Francis Ngannou: Stipe/DC winner, Jon Jones for vacant title

Next opponent for Junior Dos Santos: Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov

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UFC on ESPN 3 was all about individual accomplishments in the end. The card, commonly UFC Minneapolis, went down Saturday in the Minnesota city, with heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Francis Ngannou headlining the card. There was no Fight of the Night following the show, but rather, four Performance bonuses handed out.

For many, the main event was a dream match-up: the man with the best boxing at heavyweight, Junior Dos Santos, against the heaviest hitter remaining in the weight class, Francis Ngannou. A former champ taking on a former title challenger. Two of the biggest, most popular names in the division.

In the end, it came down to an error by Dos Santos, who put himself out of position after taking a wild swing at his opponent. Ngannou capitalized, connecting behind the ear of the Brazilian, who didn’t see the punch coming. A few more strikes, and Dos Santos was down and covering up, forcing the ref to wave it off.

With the victory, Ngannou (14-3) now has three straight finishes, the last two against former champs in Cain Velasquez and Dos Santos. He’s once again in the title picture, awaiting the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic II at UFC 241.

The other Performance of the Night bonuses on Saturday went to Joseph Benavidez, Eryk Anders, and Alonzo Menifield. Benavidez finished Jussier Formiga for the second time at UFC Minneapolis, setting up the ending with a head kick. Anders, meanwhile, got back in the win column in a big way with a knockout of Vinicius Moreira. That snapped a three-fight skid for the former LFA champion, who has fought some of middleweight’s best since joining the UFC.

Menifield, for his part, knocked out Paul Craig within a round. All four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts.

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Bouncing back from the first two losses of his career, Francis Ngannou responded with back-to-back first-round finishes. Stopping Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez within a minute each, the Ngannou bandwagon is beginning to fill-up once again. He’s already fought for the UFC heavyweight title once, and with another win at UFC Minneapolis, could be ready for another shot at the belt.

Junior dos Santos feels he’s nearing a title-shot as well. Riding a three-fight winning streak going into UFC Minneapolis, the former champ is pushing for his third crack at UFC heavyweight gold since he lost his belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 155. Given the landscape of the division, stringing four victories in a row would give him as good an argument as anyone.

Ngannou opened up with a big leg kick to some surprise. Dos Santos would then drop Ngannou with a leg kick of his own. Ngannou then landed a big right hand that earned some cheer from the audience. Dos Santos stepped in with a big overhand left that he missed. As he was missing, Ngannou landed a shot of his own behind the ear, that stumbled dos Santos. JDS then turned his back, and Ngannou snuck an uppercut in that dropped Dos Santos. Some ground strikes later, Ngannou had a first-round knockout win.

Francis Ngannou’s resume reads like a future UFC Hall of Fame list. Wins over Arlovski, Overeem, Blaydes, Velasquez, and now Dos Santos had all come in the first round. Ngannou was on the verge of a three-fight losing streak last year. He’s now on the verge of a UFC title shot and should get a title shot against the winner of Cormier and Miocic’s rematch in August.

Francis Ngannou def. Junior dos Santos by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (1:11) 

🤝 #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/6FCPI8uQBe

— UFC (@ufc) June 30, 2019

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Jussier Formiga has been in the UFC flyweight title-picture since he joined the promotion in 2012. Consistently fighting the best of the best at 125-pounds, the Brazilian has managed to fall just short of earning his first UFC title fight appearance several times. Although the future of the weight class in uncertain, a victory for Formiga at UFC Minneapolis (his fifth in a row) would undeniably make him the next contender for Henry Cejudo to battle at flyweight.

Joseph Benavidez has had a couple of cracks at the UFC flyweight title already. Since his last title-fight, Benavidez has been stacking up wins. He’s 8-1 in his last 9 bouts, and was on a two-fight winning streak going into UFC Minneapolis. While Formiga may have racked up more wins without losing of late, Benavidez already holds a key victory over flyweight title-holder Cejudo. That wouldn’t mean much though, with a loss to Formiga.

Round one was an interesting round on the feet. The most damaging strike of the round was a punch that opened a cut right on Benavidez’s left eye. That didn’t stop Benavidez from throwing a variety of strikes throughout the first five minutes. But, it did do some damage, and had Benavidez wiping his eye throughout the first round many times. There were some interesting scrambles as well, through a close first round.

Round two began with a suplex takedown by Formiga. However, Benavidez would soon reverse position and spend a lot of time on top. Benavidez would then take the fight back to the feet, where he would land some devastating calf kicks, prior to landing a giant headkick near the end of the round. Benavidez would then follow up with a giant combination that put Formiga down, and soon the fight was over.

Earlier this month after Henry Cejudo’s win over Marlon Moraes, Dana White announced the flyweight division would stick around. It seems that Cejudo may now have his next challenger in a familiar foe in Joseph Benavidez.

Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga by TKO (head kick and punches) in Round 2 (4:47)

🧙‍♂️ @bisping breaks down the grappling wizardry of @JoeJitsu #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/lmMxwfZPqb

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 30, 2019

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Demian Maia is one of the greatest grapplers in the UFC, if not the greatest. The ADCC world champion has 10 submissions in the Octagon, which ties him for third all-time with Royce Gracie. Maia is two years removed from a seven-fight win streak, that ended in a one-sided title fight loss to Tyron Woodley. After taking losses to top welterweights Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman, the Brazilian bounced back with a win over Lyman Good.

Anthony Rocco Martin signed with the UFC in 2014 at 8-0, but had a rough start, going 1-3. Martin followed up with three straight wins, but a loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier sparked a move up to welterweight. The decision has paid off in spades, as Martin has won four straight fights heading into UFC Minneapolis.

Round one started on the feet as always. However, it wasn’t much longer until Maia had the fight to the ground. Getting the takedown and getting into the mount, Maia had Martin’s back to the fence. From there, he landed some small ground strikes. With time ticking away near the end of round one, Martin would get back to his feet. It was early, but Martin had survived the first test on the ground.

Round two opened with a nice head kick by Martin, followed by a stuffed takedown. Maia would then shoot again and Martin reversed to get on top, then quickly get back to the feet, however, Maia would soon get him down again. Maia would get into the mount, however, he wasn’t able to do much with it, and would get stood up by the referee near the end of the round. Rocco would then take the fight to the ground himself with seconds remaining, and try and secure a guillotine. However, Maia got out with seconds left.

Round three was a bit of a stalemate up until the end of the round. Near the end of the round, Rocco would stun Maia, and Rocco would attempt to tune up the pressure. As Martin was moving in for the kill, Maia shot for a takedown. While not successful, he successfully got Martin to the ground with him. Which is where the two would stay until the end of the fight.

Not the most technically pleasing fight to watch, but Demian Maia is once again on a winning streak at welterweight.

Demian Maia def. Anthony Rocco Martin by majority decision (29-28×2, 28-28) 

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Roosevelt Roberts entered UFC Minneapolis as one of the brighter prospects on the card. The 25-year-old was undefeated at 8-0 ahead of his matchup with Vinc Pichel, coming off of back-to-back UFC wins. Those wins came after Roberts earned a contract with the promotion, following a second round submission win in his appearance on the Dana White Contender Series last summer.

Pichel is no stranger to the life of a UFC prospect himself. The 36-year-old competed on The Ultimate Fighter: Live in 2012. He made it to the semifinals, where he lost to Al Iaquinta. He’s since fought six times in the promotion, going 4-2. Most recently, Pichel was submitted by Gregor Gillespie in the second round last summer, ending a four fight winning streak.

The duo traded leg kicks from range throughout the first minute of the fight, before Roberts was able to get inside and land a couple of strikes. Pichel struggled to find the range early, but was eventually able to push Roberts against the cage. Roberts would easily escape after turning Pichel against the cage, and got the fight back to the center of the octagon. A flying knee that just missed Pichel from Roberts followed, forcing Pichel back against the cage once more.

The final couple of minutes were spent with the fighters against the cage, before Roberts failed to get a takedown, but was able to get the fight back in the middle of the octagon. Roberts then fought hard for a takedown after landing some strikes, and slammed Pichel down. He was unable to capitalize, as the first round ended with the men, like much of the fight, up against the cage.

Pichel came out much more aggressive early in round two. Roberts was patient, keeping Pichel at distance with a series of jabs and striaght rights. Pichel used a heavy right hand to shoot a takedown, and impressively forced Roberts to the ground against the cage 90 seconds into the second round. Controlling from top, Pichel was active, but failed to land anything of note. Roberts then waited for his opening, and exploded up and got the fight back on the feet

Pichel continued to find success with his leg kicks throughout round two. While Roberts was comfortable, Pichel’s aggression and top control gave him a decided advantage in the second stanza. Then, late in the second round, Roberts was defending a kimura agains the cage. Once there, he was able to get Pichel to the ground and take his back. But, the veteran Pichel was able to reverse position, and end the round in mount. This likely evened the fight at a round apiece.

Pichel continued to be aggressive to open the third round. Roberts responded by landing a couple of hooks, which Pichel seemed unphased by. Pichel then went back to what worked in round two, pinning Roberts against the cage and taking him down. Roberts worked hard, but Pichel kept top control and position, eventually landing some solid right hands. While Roberts worked to standing, Pichel latched on to a standing guillotine. It looked deep, but Roberts showcased his patience once more and escaped.

He didn’t escape without taking some damage, though. Pichel didn’t let Roberts rest for a second, getting Roberts back on the ground and taking his back in the final 90 seconds. The aggression from Pichel didn’t stop, as he held on to a body triangle and took mount on Roberts in the final minute. With Pichel working for a variety of submissions, Roberts got to his feet as the horn ended the fight.

Vinc Pichel def. Roosevelt Roberts by unanimous decision (29-28×3)

YIKES 😬 #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/fOnqnm0a9n

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 30, 2019

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Even though he’s only 30-years-old, it feels like Drew Dober has been in the UFC forever. He joined the promotion in 2013, after losing out in the entry round of The Ultimate Fighter 15 in 2012. He’s racked up a 6-5 (1) record in that time, showing better results of late. He’s 3-1 in his last four bouts, but was coming off of a second-round submission loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC Wichita earlier this year.

Marco Polo Reyes took a loss in his last bout earlier this year as well. The 34-year-old was TKOd in the second round by Damir Hadzovic in February. Over the course of his six fight UFC career, the Mexican is 4-2, but has tallied one win in his last three bouts. He’s not lacking in excitement though, as three of his six UFC bouts have earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Dober came out on the front foot, landing a series of heavy punches, dropping Reyes around the 30 second mark. Reyes survived momentarily and got back to his feet. But Dober landed another few hard lefts, and Reyes was out on the canvas after 67 seconds.

Drew Dober def. Marco Polo Reyes by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (1:07)

PRECISION STRIKE 🎯

Nearly every shot landed for @DrewDober in this finishing sequence #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/sbOvH2rxDh

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 30, 2019

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Two-time winner on the Dana White Contender Series, three-time winner in Legacy Fighting Alliance, and even tallying a win in Bellator MMA in his professional debut, Alonzo Menifield had quite the undefeated eight-fight resumé. The light heavyweight contender added the UFC to that list in January, earning a first-round finish in his promotion debut. He had another tough test at UFC Minneapolis, fighting the most experienced opponent of his career.

That man was Paul Craig. Craig has competed in the UFC six times in his career, going 3-3 while fighting some tough opponents. His three losses have come at the hands of Tyson Pedro, Khalil Rountree, and Jimmy Crute. Craig seems to be on the rise though, going 2-1 in his last three bouts. Both of his wins were by submission (triangle choke) in the third round, earning him Performance of the Night bonuses on both occasions.

Menifield began the fight with a couple of aggressive strikes, forcing Craig against the cage early in round one. Craig pulled guard for a second, but quickly gave up on the venture, as the fight moved back to the feet in the center of the ring. Once there, Craig worked hard for a takedown attempt, but Menifield was able to escape. After some exchanges from range, Craig was able to force Menifield against the cage, but was once again unable to get the fight to the ground.

Craig had been throwing a variety of high kicks throughout the round, and attempted back-to-back spinning head kicks. He somewhat landed the first. But, after missing the second, due to Menifield dodging it with ease, Craig ate a huge right hand after falling to the ground. He was in deep trouble. Menifield landed a couple more big rights with Craig out on the ground, forcing the referee to step in.

Alonzo Menifield def. Paul Craig via KO (punches) in Round 1 (3:19)

GROUNDED. POUNDED.@alonzomenifield dropped hammers at #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/ms6YpWs2zV

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 30, 2019

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Ricardo Ramos was not on a win streak when he was signed by the UFC, he just won at the right time. A submission victory in front of Dana White as part of the Lookin’ for a Fight show earned him a contract with the promotion. The Brazilian won in his first three Octagon appearances, including a brilliant spinning back elbow KO against Aiemann Zahabi. He’ll be looking to bounce back from a loss to Said Nurmagomedov.

Journey Newson is stepping in on short notice to replace Sergio Pettis, having just fought last month. Newson comes into UFC Minneapolis on a six-fight win streak that includes two submissions and three knockouts. The Californian has shared the cage with Benito Lopez and had an amateur fight against Ricky Simon.

Round 1

For the majority of round one, it was a battle at the range, where both threw a lot of kicks from the outside with both doing well. Ramos at a time did get a takedown, but Newson got back to his feet. Newson did go for a guillotine, but fell to his back in side control and both got to their feet quickly. The round ended on the feet, and Ramos closed out the round with a spinning elbow as Newson was crashing forward.

Cageside Press Scored the Round a 10-9 for Ramos

Round 2

Like in round one, round two started with a lot of time focused on distance control. It was Ramos who was finding his range at the longer guy. Newson landed a significant leg kick that looked to hurt Ramos a bit. The much shorter guy, Newson, was having trouble reaching Ramos with his hands coming up short by quite a lot. Newson was coming forward, but the counters from Ramos were very dangerous.

Cageside Press Scored the Round a 10-9 for Ramos

This spinning elbow >>> 👀 #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/GW6xwFmpwg

— UFC (@ufc) June 30, 2019

Round 3

Knowing he’s down two rounds, Newson came out whiffing big strikes looking for the big shot, but still his lack of range was showing. Ramos turned it into a ground battle, getting the takedown right into a guillotine from Newson. It looked tight, but Ramos escaped showing good defense.

Ramos did get a nice slam while controlling the back of Newson, but the fight resumed on the feet. With a minute left, Ramos landed a wicked combo of elbows, leading upward with the right elbow to come around the top, with the right elbow landing huge, dropping Newson to his knees. The fight closed with Ramos looking for the finish, landing a key right hand, but the toughness of Newson took him the distance.

Cageside Press Scored the Round a 10-9 for Ramos

THE SOUND!🔊

This man has a chin of granite!!! #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/mmWw9z0JUT

— UFC (@ufc) June 30, 2019

Ricardo Ramos def. Journey Newson by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

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