Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its breakneck start to 2021 tomorrow night (Weds., Jan. 20, 2021) with its second of three events in the span of a week. This time around, former Lightweight Michael Chiesa looks to establish himself at 170 pounds against veteran Neil Magny, while The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “Brazil” winner Warlley Alves attempts to put a rough loss behind him at fast-rising Mounir Lazzez’s expense. UFC Fight Island 8 also features a pair of intriguing Flyweight bouts pitting Viviane Araujo and Tyson Nam against Roxanne Modafferi and Matt Schnell, respectively.
Want to make up for the paycheck you’re missing by skipping work to watch this? Read on …
What Went Wrong at UFC Fight Island 7?
Man, it sucks to correctly call an upset and then watch things go up in smoke when a heavy favorite gets walloped. Joaquin Buckley’s knockout loss (watch highlights) left us at a deficit, though a combination of good work from Ramazan Emeev and questionable judging toward Carlos Felipe limited the losses.
UFC Fight Island 8 Odds For The Under Card:
Tom Breese (-160) vs. Omari Akhmedov (+140)
Ricky Simon (-440) vs. Gaetano Pirrello (+350)
Su Mudaerji (-470) vs. Zarrukh Adashev (+375)
Dalcha Lungiambula (-135) vs. Markus Perez (+115)
Francisco Figueiredo (-150) vs. Jerome Rivera (+130)
Mike Davis (-160) vs. Mason Jones (+140)
Umar Nurmagomedov (-525) vs. Sergey Morozov (+415)
Manon Fiorot (-200) vs. Victoria Leonardo (+170)
Thoughts: On an undercard full of unknown quantities, Manon Fiorot stands out as a bargain. “The Beast” actually opened as an underdog, which would have been an all-time-great investment, but she’s still worth your money. Her striking decisively out-classes Victoria Leonardo’s and she’s a fairly stout counter-wrestler, which combines with her effective footwork to take Leonardo’s ground game off the table.
She’s the anchor for this event.
Tom Breese is definitely worth your time as well. He’s a far better boxer than Omari Akhmedov and looks to be a sufficiently skilled wrestler to keep “Wolverine” from doing his customary “blanket for two rounds and desperately survive the third” routine. Though too mercurial to recommend a major investment, a spot on “The Octopus” makes sense.
UFC Fight Island 8 Odds For The Main Card:
Neil Magny (-145) vs. Michael Chiesa (+125)
Mounir Lazzez (-240) vs. Warlley Alves (+200)
Ike Villanueva (-140) vs. Vinicius Moreira (+120)
Viviane Araujo (-330) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (+270)
Lerone Murphy (-310) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade (+255)
Tyson Nam (-125) vs. Mat Schnell (+105)
Thoughts: This is the third time Tyson Nam and Matt Schnell have been booked to fight, but luckily, the bookies still haven’t wised up. Between his crushing power, excellent submission defense, and recent willingness to actually let his hands go, Nam is perfectly equipped to defeat Schnell, who’s been violently knocked out three times in the Octagon.
If you want a heavy favorite who won’t let you down, go with Viviane Araujo. The Brazilian’s top-notch takedown defense and dangerous, movement-heavy striking style worked perfectly against Montana De La Rosa last time out, and Modafferi boats similar strengths and weaknesses. Plus, if you’re superstitious, Modafferi has alternated losses and wins since 2017 and is coming off of a victory, so the universe is on “Vivi’s” side.
UFC Fight Island 8 Best Bets:
- Parlay — Manon Fiorot and Tyson Nam: Bet $50 to make $85
- Parlay — Tom Breese and Viviane Araujo: Bet $40 to make $44.80
- Parlay — Manon Fiorot and Viviane Araujo: Bet $50 to make $47.61
Hope you’ve got your alarm set, because violence waits for no man or woman. See you Wednesday, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Island 8 fight card this week, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance at 12 p.m. ET (also on ESPN/ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Island 8: “Chiesa vs. Magny” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
