UFC Fight Island 4 Results: Germaine De Randamie steals the show with nasty guillotine choke; former champ dominates in main event, and more
Following last month's blockbuster UFC 253 pay-per-view where reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya dispatched Paulo Costa in spectacular fashion, the promotion was back with another action-packed UFC Fight Island 4 card at the Yas Islands in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The card was headlined by a high stakes women's bantamweight clash between former champion Holly Holm and surging contender Irene Aldana while the co-main event featured a heavyweight battle between Yorgan De Castro and Carlos Felipe.
Given below are the results of all the main card fights from UFC Fight Island 4.
UFC Fight Island 4 Main Card
Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana – Holm def. Aldana by unanimous decision (50-44 x2, 50-45)
Yorgan De Castro vs. Carlos Felipe – Felipe def. De Castro by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Germaine de Randamie vs. Julianna Pena – De Randamie def. Pena via submission (guillotine) in Round 3
Kyler Phillips vs. Cameron Else – Phillips def. Else via TKO at :44 of Round 2
Dequan Townsend vs. Dusko Todorovic – Todorovic def. Townsend via TKO at 3:15 of Round 2
UFC Fight Island 4 Prelims
Carlos Condit vs. Court McGee – Condit def. McGee by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Charles Jourdain vs. Joshua Culibao – Ends in a split draw (30-27 Jordain, 29-28 Culibao, 28-28)
Jordan Williams vs. Nassourdine Imavov – Imavov def. Williams by unanimous decision (29-27 x2, 29-28)
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Jinh Yu Frey – Lookboonmee def. Frey by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Casey Kenney vs. Alateng Heili – Kenny def. Heili by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
Luigi Vendramini vs. Jessin Ayari – Vendramini def. Ayari via TKO at 1:12 of Round 1
Now, without further delay, let's take a look at the highlights from all the fights on the main card of today's UFC Fight Island 4 event.
Dusko Todorovic def. Dequan Townsend
Undefeated middleweight prospect Dusko Todorovic maintained his perfect record in professional MMA by registerin a dominant win in his octagon debut at UFC Fight Island 4.
The former Contender Series winner put on a stellar showing against Dequan Townsend and managed to finish the fight with nasty ground and pound encore, earning himself a TKO win in his Octagon debut. The stoppage came at 3:15 into the second round. Todorovic is now 10-0 in his career.
“We knew Dequan is a tough fighter. He can take punishment,” Todorovic said during the post-fight interview. “I think this is my first takedown in my career. It’s all very unreal still to me. I think in a couple days when the emotion settles, I’ll be fully aware of what’s happening. I’m glad I could get the ‘W’ and stay undefeated.”
Kyler Phillips def. Cameron Else
Rising bantamweight prospect Kyler Phillips has well and truly arrived and the 135 lbs roster now has another massive problem to deal with.
Following a decision win in his Octagon debut earlier this year, Phillips brought out the fireworks in his second fight at UFC Fight Island 4, mercilessly bloodying and battering his opponent Cameron Else with hammer fists on the ground to earn an emphatic TKO finish. The stoppage came at just 44 seconds into round two as Phillips climbed to 2-0 inside the Octagon.
During the post-fight interview, Phillips said that all he wants to do is fight and requested another opponent in a quick turnaround. “I’m excited to just do another, I just want to fight all the time. This all I want to do.”
Germaine de Randamie def. Julianna Pena
Former women's bantamweight title challenger Germaine de Randamie is usually known for her striking skills inside the cage but she showed a different side to her game tonight, tapping into her arsenal of slick submissions to earn herself another impressive win against Julianna Pena.
This was De Randamie's first fight after her unsuccessful title bid against reigning champion Amanda Nunes back in 2019. De Randamie surprised fight fans by putting Pena to sleep with a vicious guillotine choke in the pair's bantamweight clash at UFC Fight Island 4. De Randamie got the finish at 3:25 in the third and final round. This was the first submission win of her career.
During the post-fight interview, De Randamie called out the champ for a rematch. “I tell everybody if you give me your neck, I’ll put you to sleep. I can only say still the No. 1 [contender]. Hold that belt, champ. Congratulations with your beautiful family. But I’m not done. ‘The Iron Lady’ is here.”
Carlos Felipe def. Yorgan De Castro
The co-main event of UFC Fight Island 4 witnessed a back and forth heavyweight striking battle between Carlos Felipe and Yorgan De Castro, at the end of which the former got his hand raised via unanimous decision.
Felipe rained punches on his opponent from the get-go, constantly pushing De Castro around the cage and lighting him up with bombs every now and then during the course of their three-round fight. The number of significant strikes landed by Felipe was ultimately the deciding factor as the Brazilian quite literally punched his way to a unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28. This was Felipe's first win inside the Octagon.
“I love doing this,” Felipe said following his win. “I fight having fun. Love me or hate me. I have some violence inside me and I put it inside the cage.”
Holly Holm def. Irene Aldana
In the lead up to the main event of UFC Fight Island 4, many claimed that former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm would be a stepping stone for rising prospect Irene Aldana en-route to a title shot but once the cage doors shut behind the pair, a completely different story unfolded.
Holly Holm thoroughly dominated Aldana over the five scheduled and looked nigh perfect inside the cage as she went about the job with razor-sharp precision, getting her hand raised by a lopsided unanimous decision at the end. This is probably Holm's best performance inside the Octagon since her famous scrap with Ronda Rousey. Holm outclassed Aldana both on feet as well as the ground, picking the latter apart right from the beginning till the end of the fight. The scorecards say a lot about the nature of Holm's win tonight with the judges scoring the fight 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45 in favor of "The Preacher's Daughter".
“I always say I like to learn from my wins and not from my losses cause I learn each time,” Holm said after notching her second straight win in a row. “I’m still very green and learning so I just want to put it all together.
With this huge victory, Holm is likely to step up to challenge Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title up next.