The brutal match that opened the ‘main card’ on Yas Island, the one between Mounir Lazzez and Abdul Razak Alhassan, was declared the best that evening. With that, the winner Lazzez took home a valuable prize, but Alhassan wasn’t the same luck and was left without a bonus because he appeared at the official weigh-in with the extra kilos.
HOW IS HE STILL STANDING?! ? #UFCFightIsland1 pic.twitter.com/yAPnHgtDMF
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 16, 2020
NON-STOP SWINGING. ? #UFCFightIsland1 pic.twitter.com/7xvVchhHPb
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 16, 2020
This, of course, opened up space for the UFC to share three awards for best performance, and all three went into the hands of fighters from the introductory part of the program.
One went to Khamzat Chimaev, who earned his additional $50,000 by choking John Phillips in his debut.
FEROCIOUS WORK BY @KChimaev! He never stopped! #UFCFightIsland1
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 16, 2020
?️ #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/52Bcoz3Qaz
Lerone Murphy was also awarded for his TKO victory over Ricardo Ramos, and his UFC debut was well cashed in by Modestas Bukauskas, who shook Andreas Michailidis with his elbows at the very end of the first round.
The last of these stoppages was particularly interesting as it arrived after the time had elapsed, but the referee noticed that Michailidis was having trouble getting up so he decided to wait a few seconds to see the outcome of the situation. At one point, the 31-year-old Greek withdrew with his back to the fence and nearly fell out of the cage, but in his defense, he was probably unaware that the door was open. However, the referee did not see it that way and decided that it was best to end the match.
The ref's stepped in.
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 16, 2020
?? @ModestasBukaus1 wraps it up in 1️⃣ with some nasty elbows! #UFCFightIsland1
?️ #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/Ae3xwnPWZ0