Biggest Winners, Loser For UFC Fight Island 5

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC Fight Island 5 produced a wild night of fights last night (Sat., Oct. 10, 2020) inside Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abud Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the main event of the evening, Cory Sandhagen stunned Marlon Moraes with a spinning wheel kick knockout victory (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Edson Barboza finally snapped his three-fight losing streak by outclassing Makwan Amirkhani for 15 minutes. And let’s not forget Joaquin Buckley’s unforgettable knockout of the decade candidate (see it again here).

Biggest Winner: Cory Sandhagen

Cory Sandhagen is perhaps the most unassuming dangerous fighter you will ever meet. He isn’t built like Yoel Romero, he doesn’t talk trash like Conor McGregor, but boy can the man fight. And he put everyone on notice — division champion Petr Yan included — after he stunned the combat world by knocking out the No. 1 ranked fighter at 135 pounds with some ground-and-pound that all started with a spectacular spinning wheel kick. With the win, Sandhagen moves to 6-1 inside the Octagon with his lone loss coming to Aljamain Sterling, the man who will face Yan next. This will without a doubt stamp “The Sandman’s” ticket to the big dance to face the winner of Sterling vs Yan.

Runner Up: Joaquin Buckley

Buckley produced without a doubt the best knockout of 2020 — if not ever — after tagging Impa Kasanganay with a jumping spinning kick for the ages, a first inside the Octagon. Buckley set the MMA world on fire on social media, with everyone from Justin Gaethje, Dana White and even Nate Diaz jumping on Twitter to give their seal of approval. If that weren’t enough, Buckley took home a $50,000 post-fight bonus, and he may even get a locker room bonus, as well. With a baby on the way, that extra bread will be very welcome, as will the praise that is sure to come his way for months to come.

Biggest Loser: Marlon Moraes

Marlon’s hopes of getting another shot at the UFC Bantamweight title took a big hit after he was upset by Cory Sandhagen in the headlining act. Coming in as the favorite, Moraes had extra confidence — something he is never lacking. But what he wasn’t prepared for was the spinning wheel kick “The Sandman” unleashed out of nowhere. That is now two losses for “Magic” in his last three outings, which will likely cost him his No. 1 ranking. It’s back to the drawing board for the Brazilian bomber, and he will have a long trek back to the top since he fights in a very crowded 135-pound division.

For complete UFC Fight Island 5 results and coverage click here.