Dan Ige ready to take on Calvin Kattar. - AFP file
Abu Dhabi - Packed card on Thursday with Calvin Kattar-Dan Ige bout headlining Fight Island 1
Published: Wed 15 Jul 2020, 7:48 PM
Last updated: Wed 15 Jul 2020, 10:06 PM
After a successful debut, the UFC Fight Island juggernaut rolls on with the first of the three Fight Nights to be held at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Dana White, the UFC president, said the UFC 251 on Sunday was sensational.
According to media reports, the Sunday event had hit a 1.3-million pay per view buys. While White didn't confirm the figures, he declared that the Kamaru Usman versus Jorge Masvidal was a 'successful' outing.
"This thing killed across the board in every way you could possibly kill it. The thing did really well. This is a big melting pot of different things. Fight Island was a massive star in this thing," White said.
"Jorge Masvidal was a massive star. Obviously, Usman, the champion and a guy that we're all starting to realise is tough to beat and a great card underneath it. It all came together perfectly."
And come Thursday in Fight Island 1, the action gets bigger with two American featherweight fighters trying to prove a point and other names desperate to stamp their authority on their divisions.
In the main card, featherweight division number six Calvin Kattar and tenth ranked Dan Ige are ready to pack a punch. Kattar has a 24-4 win-loss record whereas Ige is on a six-win streak. And both have tasted success earlier this year.
"I feel like these big names are paying me no mind yet. I am cool with that as I like flying under the radar. I am all focussed on one thing in mind and that's the UFC title belt. I am not worried about Dan Ige or what he did with the last six guys. I am a different problem. I don't think he faced anybody like me," Kattar warned.
Ige, who enjoys a 14-2 record, is eager to prove himself worthy of a title shot.
"I really feel like I have been doubted my whole life. I am not the most physically talented guy, don't have the freakish genetics, but I have formulated everything through hard work, belief and tenacity," he said.
"And I love proving people wrong. I am on a six-fight winning streak and bound to make it seven, eight, nine, ten, I am going to get that belt."
In the co-main event, flyweight division veteran Tim Elliott and challenger Ryan Benoit are both itching to get a win under their belt.
"Three losses in a row are tough. But right now I feel like it's my time. I feel like the best I have ever felt. I have a new contract and a raise. I got four more fights. I feel like rejuvenated now," 33-year-old Elliott said.
Benoit is returning from a loss in December last year and an unexpected tough phase of life amid the pandemic.
"This is the most comfortable I have prepared for a fight. My goal is to be able to get consistent fights," he said.
In other fights, bantamweight No. 8 Jimmie Rivera, on 22-4 record, takes on ninth-ranked contender Cody Stamann. There's a women's flyweight division bout between in form Molly McCann against newcomer Taila Santos.
Then there is the bout between local boy Mounir Lazzez and Abdul Razak Alhassan.
There are six preliminary fights starting from 3 am in Yas Island on Thursday.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com
FIGHT SCHEDULE (UAE TIME):
MAIN CARD (6 a.m onwards):
Featherweight: Calvin Kattar v Dan Ige
Flyweight: Tim Elliott v Ryan Benoit
Bantamweight: Jimmie Rivera v Cody Stamann
Women's Flyweight: Molly McCann v Taila Santos
Welterweight: Abdul Razak Alhassan v Mounir Lazzez
PRELIMINARY CARD (3 a.m onwards):
Middleweight: John Phillips v Khamzat Chimaev
Featherweight: Ricardo Ramos v Lerone Murphy
Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas v Andreas Michailidis
Featherweight: Chris Fishgold v Jared Gordon
Women's Flyweight: Diana Belbita v Liana Jojua
Bantamweight: Jack Shore v Aaron Phillips
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