On the night of January 17, the Absolute Fighting Championship tournament took place in Abu Dhabi.
UFC Fight Island 7 not only became the first for the promotion in 2021, but in general could be considered historic for several reasons.
So, for the first time in the history of the promotion, it was broadcast on the American ABC channel, and was also remembered for the long-awaited return to the stands of fans.
The last time viewers had the opportunity to attend the events of the organization on March 7, 2020, after which the coronavirus pandemic intervened.
As for the fights, the first of the three tournaments in the UAE had something to interest the fans.
The poster of the duel between featherweight stars Max Holloway and Calvin Katter, as well as the duel of renowned veterans of mixed martial arts - Carlos Condit and Matt Brown was immediately evident.
At the same time, another bright performance was expected from Joaquin Buckley, who in 2020 was remembered for one of the most spectacular strikes in the history of MMA.
Then he sent Impu Kasanganaya to the flooring with a spectacular "spinner" in a jump.
But if all the above events took place within the framework of the main card, then for the Russian fans the most interesting thing began already in the preliminary one.
In the third duel of the show, they faced a confrontation between Ramazan Emeev and David Zavada.
Earlier, a native of Dagestan dealt with Nick Stolze, and the counterpart sensationally took over Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin Abubakar.
Zavada "strangled" Nurmagomedov at a show in Moscow in November 2019, after which he never entered the cage.
However, in the first minutes it was impossible to say that the long downtime affected his skills.
The German actively went forward and worked both on the head and on the legs of the enemy.
Emeyev tried to answer, but could not keep up with a sharper opponent, and therefore decided to change tactics.
Ramazan recalled that it is not for nothing that he is a master of sports in combat sambo and pankration, having twice laid an opponent on the floor.
David was not bad on the ground and did not allow himself much damage, but gave up the initiative.
In the second round, Emeev did not postpone the matter indefinitely and already at the 20th second made a pass to his feet, again finding himself in a full guard.
It was not possible to achieve much success on the ground, but a few good blows to the body still achieved the goal.
This equalized the Russian and the German a little in speed, as a result of which the second no longer had a special advantage in the stand.
Unless in the end he managed to create problems for Ramadan by re-connecting a series of twos and low-kicks.
Another achievement of David was his progress in takedown defense.
He successfully blocked three attempts in a row at once and kept the intrigue in the confrontation.
At the beginning of the third round, it seemed that it would become a repetition of the second.
Already at the eighth second, Emeyev knocked his opponent down on the canvas, but again failed to build on his success, and later completely allowed Zavada to restore the status quo.
The bloody German found himself in side control, and then in a matter of seconds made his way to a full mount.
Ramadan's position became critical, but he demonstrated his skill and managed to get to his feet.
David tried to rehabilitate himself in a stance, but was not so fresh.
As a result, Emeev surpassed Zavada in all key indicators, but one of the judges was not enough.
Mike Bell gave the German the first two five minutes, which almost cost the Russian victory.
But two other referees sided with him and corrected the situation.
Ramazan won the ninth fight of the last ten and strengthened his position in the welterweight division.
Also, the preliminary program of the tournament was remembered for a bright battle between two heavyweights.
For 15 minutes, Justin Tafa and Carlos Felipe showered each other with powerful blows and miraculously both remained on their feet.
If you believe the statistics, the Australian outdid his counterpart in the number of hits, but the opinions of the judges were again divided.
Only one sided with him, while the other two preferred the Brazilian.
The main card of UFC Fight Island 7 turned out to be oversaturated.
The battle between Punahele Soriano and Dusko Todorovic, although it lasted less than five minutes, was remembered by a number of colorful episodes.
During this time, the American knocked down his opponent twice, and at one point he almost needed a spare cap.
After another blow, the piece of equipment flew out of the Serb's mouth and fell into the gap between the net and the flooring.
The referee could not independently remove it from there, in connection with which the athlete himself had to do this.
As a result, Todorovich still managed to get the mouthpiece, but this did not save him from defeat.
The most powerful left straight sent him to the canvas, and the finishing move was unnecessary.
For Soriano, this triumph was the eighth in his career and the second - under the auspices of the UFC.
A similar was expected from Buckley, who was opposed by not the most stellar Alessio Di Chirico.
The American was considered the favorite and for the time being ruled in the octagon, but suddenly missed a crushing high-kick.
Joaquin clearly expected this and reacted correctly to the swing, but was unable to dodge.
The hardest defeat by knockout interrupted his series of two successful fights, and for the Italian, with a high degree of probability, it was a lifesaver.
Until now, his liabilities have included three lost battles in a row, and the last victory was dated July 2018.
Santiago Ponzinibbio's unbeaten streak ended at UFC Fight Island 7.
The Argentinean won seven fights in a row and in the event of a victory over Lee Jingliang could well break into the top 15, but he was unconscious already in the fifth minute.
The Chinese confidently controlled the distance and worked great with long shots, and when the enemy tried to get closer, he hit with a left hook.
The UFC management was so impressed that they gave him and Di Chirico a $ 50K bonus for the evening's performances.
The battle of Condita with Brown, although it had a bright signboard, was not the most spectacular.
The former interim welterweight champion has confirmed his class excellence and successfully completed his last fight under his contract with the UFC.
At the same time, Carlos said that he was ready to continue performing.
As for the main fight, the fight didn't work out.
Holloway was clearly not embarrassed by the fact that this fight was the first for him since 2016, in which the title was not at stake.
The Hawaiian demonstrated phenomenal skill in striking technique and completely surpassed Katter.
After the first round, hematomas appeared on Calvin's face, and at the end of the fifth round there was no living space left on him.
This battle was reminiscent of Holloway's battle with Brian Ortega.
Then he also showed a master class on fighting in a standing position and more than two and a half times surpassed his opponent in the number of significant hits (290: 110), simultaneously setting a record for this indicator.
True, this time the fight turned out to be even more one-sided, and Max was able to rewrite his own achievement.
As a result, the difference in blows was a humiliating 445: 133.
At the same time, Katter is difficult to reproach for lack of will.
He fought to the last and continued to go forward, despite serious injuries and almost complete lack of chances of victory.
Calvin was beaten for the entire 25 minutes and earned not only the respect of fans and colleagues, but also a $ 50,000 bonus for the fight of the evening.
Holloway, on the other hand, interrupted a streak of two defeats in a row and proved that he remains one of the strongest featherweight on the planet.
And very soon he may have a chance to fight for the belt again.
As Dana White announced on the eve of the tournament, if he wins, Max will again receive the status of the first contender.