FIGHT ISLAND played host to its first midweek UFC Fight Night event on Thursday, headlined by Calvin Kattar‘s unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige in a closely contested main event. All five fights on the main card went the distance after all-bar one of the preliminary matchups lasted less than three rounds.

Lerone Murphy, Khamzat Chimaev, and Modestas Bukauskas all earned performance bonuses for their stoppages, while Mounir Lazzez and Abdul Razak Alhassan produced the fight of the night. However, Alhassan was not awarded his bonus after missing weight earlier in the week, rubbing salt into the wound of his first career loss.

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The headline bout was a tight one, but showcased all of Kattar’s championship credentials as he strengthened heading into the fourth and fifth rounds. Two judges scored the bout 49-46 for the sixth-ranked featherweight, handing him four rounds to Ige’s one, with the consensus being that the Hawaiian stole Round 2.

Kattar is now the only fighter to have earned two wins since the leading promotion’s restart in May, spoiling Ige’s party as the first Contender Series graduate to headline a UFC event. He improves to 22-4 with a fourth win in five outings, snapping Ige’s six-fight win streak in the process.

While Ige’s volume and durability tested his opponent, Kattar boasted the superior power on the feet and was able to land heavily up top in between stuffing all of Ige’s seven takedown attempts. The victor’s jab dictated the pace and direction of the fight, as Ige visibly wore the damage of Kattar’s precise shots on his face.

In the co-main event slot, Tim Elliott showed why he is one of the promotion’s favourites in his high-paced decision victory over Ryan Benoit, who was less than pleased with the outcome. While the nod went unanimously in Elliott’s favour by two rounds to one, there could have been an argument to suggest Benoit had credit in the bank over the first two periods.

Nonetheless, Elliott’s greater time in mount, more active finish, and ability to ride out a tight kneebar attempt in Round 2 earned him a spot back on the winners list. Speaking of, Jimmie Rivera‘s year-long layoff was cut emphatically in his win over Cody Stamann, albeit up at featherweight.

Both men were slightly tentative in pulling the trigger while standing, perhaps due to the short notice and high stakes nature of the bout, but Rivera would land the bigger and more effective shots over the course of three rounds. It was a tight and technical battle, but Rivera had all the answers against an opponent he respected highly.

Two of the more impressive performances of the night belonged to Taila Santos and Lazzez, who jerked the curtain for the main card with respective decision wins. Santos looked a much improved fighter compared to her last bout, where she suffered a maiden professional loss.

The Brazilian dominated Molly McCann in every facet, using her length to advantage while punishing the advancing Englishwoman with brutal knees from the clinch and superb grappling technique. Her skillset was much too diverse in the end, and may well earn her a number come next week.

Lazzez showcased a similarly brilliant and well-rounded skillset in his enthralling bout with Alhassan, made to resist an early onslaught by the Ghanaian in order to get his own game going. In taking the early punishment, Lazzez was able to bring Alhassan into unknown territory past Round 1, while picking him apart with a clinical array of strikes to arguably take out all three rounds.

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MAIN CARD RESULTS:

Calvin Kattar [6] def. Dan Ige [10] | Decision (unanimous) 49-46, 49-46, 48-47

Tim Elliott [13] def. Ryan Benoit | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Jimmie Rivera [8] def. Cody Stamann [9] | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 29-28

Taila Santos def. Molly McCann [15] | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 29-28

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PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS:

Khamzat Chimaev def. John Phillips | Submission (D’Arce choke) 1:12 Rd 2

Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos | TKO (punches) 4:18 Rd 1

Modestes Bukauskas def. Andreas Michailidis | TKO (elbows) 5:00 Rd 1

Jared Gordon def. Chris Fishgold | Decision (unanimous) 30-26, 30-26, 30-26

Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbita | Submission (armbar) 2:43 Rd 1

Jack Shore def. Aaron Phillips | Submission (rear-naked choke) 2:29 Rd 2