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Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. Korean Zombie
The Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE was home to a great night of fights at UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. Korean Zombie. The card saw four (T)KOs and six decisions, including a split-decision.
Said Nurmagomedov kicked off the prelims with a sensational first-round TKO of Mark Striegl. That was followed up by Maxim Grishin earning a standing TKO over Gadzhimurad Antigulovin the second round just before the bell. Jamie Mullarkey looked like he had the fight in the bag 29-28, but the judges saw differently, awarding the unanimous, 29-28 decision to Fares Ziam. Junyong Park beat John Phillips so bad, he ended up setting new ground-and-pound records (286 ground strikes, 13:11 of ground control) and scored a unanimous 30-25 decision over the Welshman. Gillian Robertson put on a masterful performance against Polyana Botelho, and once again, the judges were all over the place. Fortunately, Gillian got the unanimous decision, even if the officials had it much closer than the rest of the sighted world. Mateusz Gamrot and Guram Kutateladze put on an absolutely bonkers fight that was razor close, but in the end, it would be Kutateladze that would take the split-decision win.
The main card opened with Jonathan Martinez defeating Thomas Almeida via unanimous decision in a fantastic “striking extravaganza” as the commentary team called it. That was followed by a grueling battle between James Krause and Claudio Silva that saw Krause take the unanimous decision. Jimmy Crute scored a big, first-round knockout of Modestas Bukauskas, then immediately dropped down to hug his fallen opponent, and inquire on his welfare. With that accomplished, he leapt over the cage to converse with Dana White, no doubt to ask for a bonus (good call).
The co-main event was another high energy fight packed into one round that saw Andrade fly through a kick to land some sweet body music to Katlyn Chookagian’s midsection that ended up dropping the “Blonde Fighter” to the canvas clutching her side and turtling up. Jessica Andrade became the first woman in the UFC to log wins in three different weight classes.
The main event was a tour de force performance by Brian Ortega, who looked outstanding. His striking is miles ahead of where it was a few years ago, and more importantly, he looked defensively responsible. He took every round handily and managed to drop KZ in round two. There was a clash of heads in the fourth round that ended up with a cut over Zombie’s left eye, but the ringside physician cleared the action to continue. The fifth round was just as crispy as the first for Ortega, and he took the landslide unanimous decision.
Performance of the Night: Jimmy Crute, Jessica Andrade
Said Nurmagomedov (TKO (punches) at :51 of round 1), Maxim Grishin (TKO (punches) at 4:58 of round 2), Jimmy Crute (KO (punches) at 2:01 of round 1), and Jessica Andrade (TKO (body shots) at 4:55 of round 1) all finished their respective opponents, but Jimmy Crute and Jessica Andrade would cruise out of Fight Island with the $50K bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Guram Kutateladze
Fares Ziam (29-28 x3), Jun Yong Park (30-25 x3), Gillian Robertson (29-28, 29-27, 29-27), Guram Kutateladze (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), Jonathan Martinez (30-27 x3), James Krause (30-27×3), and Brian Ortega (50-45 x3) all went the distance in their respective fights, but Mateusz Gamrot vs. Guram Kutateladze was the contest that earned the FOTN bonus.