Alexandre Pantoja is defeated by Askar Askarov and moves away from the title fight

A. Pantoja (right) was defeated by A. Askarov (right) in the UFC Fight Island 2. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook @ufc

In the confrontation that opened the main card of the UFC Fight Island 2, held this Saturday (18), in Abu Dhabi, Alexandre pantoja fought a tough fight against Askar askarov and ended up defeated in a unanimous decision by the judges. The setback takes the Brazilian away from an immediate fight for the flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg).

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Pantoja arrived in the UAE with a commitment to face Askarov, but he was also the official reserve for the main fight between Deiveson Figueiredo e Joseph Benavidez in the fight for the title. Although he was prepared for three possible opponents, the athlete ended up missing the chance to challenge the new champion.

With the triumph over Pantoja, Askarov should reach the top 5 in the category and take fourth place, which was occupied by Alexandre. With the new positive result, Askar maintained his unbeaten record in his career, which now has 12 wins and one draw.

The fight

The fight began with Pantoja attacking his opponent and, upon contact, risked a guillotine choke. The Russian tried to defend himself, but the Brazilian insisted on attempting a submission. Askar managed to free his arm and hit Alexandre from top to bottom. Pantoja showed a lot of technique and managed to get up. Askarov managed to take down the Brazilian, but Alexandre managed a beautiful transition and reached the Russian's back. The Brazilian attempted a choke, but there was no more time.

The second round began with Alexandre throwing a kick to Askarov's waist. Pantoja kicked once again, but had his leg held by Askar, who responded with a series of punches. Halfway through the round, the Russian managed to take down the Brazilian, but Alexandre showed danger in his submission attempts. Pantoja managed to get up, but Askarov continued to focus on grappling. Near the final minute, Askar connected with a good sequence of direct shots and took down the Brazilian again. Pantoja managed to reverse the position, got to the back and tried to lock in the rear naked choke. The Russian defended himself and the timer reset.

In the first minute, Alexandre surprised the Russian with a straight shot, which took his opponent to the ground. Pantoja allowed Askar to get up and the duel was fought again in the center of the Octagon. Askarov continued to score with jabs and straight shots, but the Brazilian tried to close the gap with kicks to the waistline. In the final seconds, the flyweights began to save their strikes and avoided a mistake that could have been fatal at that point. The fight ended with the fighters in open exchanges.

Ariane Lipski puts on a show against Luana Dread in a Brazilian duel

A. Lipski connects with an ankle lock on L. Dread. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook @ufc

In the only fight between Brazilians of the night, Ariane Lipski put on a real show against Luana Dread. In a clash between flyweights, the Paraná native needed less than two minutes to defeat the São Paulo native and achieve a beautiful submission (kneebar) in the first round.

Lipski arrived for the fight with the intention of winning to stabilize himself within the UFC. The athlete was having her fourth fight for the organization and was looking for her second consecutive victory. In the interview after the triumph, Ariane asked the board for a performance bonus.

With the setback for the Paraná native, Luana suffered her first defeat since her debut in Ultimate. The São Paulo native had only been beaten once in her career and is now awaiting her next match to try to win again.

Gastelum is submitted by Jack Hermansson and loses third in a row

J. Hermansson submits K. Gastelum in the UFC Fight Island 2. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

In the co-main fight of the night, Jack hermansson won again and confirmed the bad phase of Kelvin Gastelum within the UFC. In the clash between middleweights (up to 83,4kg) the Swede made good on the fame of his jiu-jitsu and submitted the North American in less than two minutes.

The duel against Kelvin meant a lot to Jack. The athlete needed to recover from the tough defeat he suffered to Jared Cannonier, in September last year to once again dream of a title fight. After the positive result, the Swede asked for a fight against the winner of the clash between Darren till e Robert whittaker, who will face each other on July 25th.

Former challenger for the category's interim belt, Gastelum is definitely not going through a good moment in his career. The fighter was coming off two consecutive defeats and needed to win to prove that he can perform at a high level against athletes at the top of the division. The setback for Hermansson confirmed the third negative result in a row and the sixth in his professional MMA career.

UFC Ilha da Luta 2 results

MAIN CARD

Fly weight: Deiveson Figueiredo finished Joseph Benavidez with a rear naked choke at 4m48s of R1- Fight for the belt

Average weight: Jack hermansson finished Kelvin Gastelum with a heel hook at 1m19s of R1

Lightweight: Raphael Fiziev derrotou Marc Diakiese in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Fly weight: Ariane Lipski finished Luana Dread with a kneebar at 1m28s of R1

Fly weight: Askar askarov derrotou Alexandre pantoja in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Roman Dolidze derrotou Roman Dolidze by knockout at 4m15s of R1

Grant dawson derrotou Nad Narimani in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27,30-26, 29-27)

Joel alvarez finished Joe Duffy with a guillotine 2m25s from R1

Brett johns derrotou Montel Jackson in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: amir albazi finished Malcolm Gordon with a triangle 4m42s from R1

Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan derrotou Davi ramos in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Heavyweight: Sergey Spivak derrotou Carlos Boi in the majority decision of the judges (29-27, 28-28, 29-27)

Fatal change? Makhachev ignores warning and could end tragically at welterweight!