UFC Fight Island 8 results: Alves spams liver kicks for TKO win, Villanueva hits walk-off KO

The UFC Fight Island 8 main card is almost over and the co-main event just witnessed Warlley Alves land a trifecta of liver kicks on Mounir Lazzez to score a first-round TKO. Three straight kicks to the same spot was too much for Lazzez to endure, so he dropped to the floor in agony. After sitting out all of 2020 due to injury, Alves made quite the statement in his return. He also made the most of his post-fight interview by calling out Nate Diaz.

Before that, light heavyweight Ike Villanueva showed up, shutting out the lights of Vinicius Moreira with one punch in the second round. Villanueva was throwing his punches in combinations in the first act, but then landed the final zinger as Moreira was throwing a combo of his own. You got to love a walk-off knockout, and Villanueva did it to achieve his first UFC win.

Also on the main card, the UFC’s #9 ranked flyweight, Viviane Araujo, out-struck the #8 ranked, Roxanne Modafferi, to take home a unanimous decision. Araujo also found success with her takedowns and ground game, doing enough to win each round on every scorecard. Araujo has won seven of her last eight matches, only falling short to Jessica Eye in 2019.

The men’s flyweight division saw a three-round standup affair between the #9 ranked, Matt Schnell, and the #13 rated, Tyson Nam. Schnell showed up with some lightening quick hands, piecing up Nam and getting odd to a strong start. Nam rallied in the final frame, moving forward and throwing more than just one strike at a time, but it wasn’t enough. Schnell went on to take the split decision to get himself back into the win column.

Opening up the main card, Omari Akhmedov earned a second-round submission on Tom Breese. It was there grappling of Akhmedov that served him well here. He spent a lot of time in top position in the opening round before snagging up an arm triangle in the second. Akhmedov returns to his winning ways after falling short to former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in his last outing.

**See complete results below

Main card:

Warlley Alves def. Mounir Lazzez by TKO at 2:35 of round 1: Welterweight

Alves went right at Lazzez, attacking the body with mean punches. Alves had an extra layer of aggression to him tonight. From the clinch, a scramble resulted in Alves taking top position. Lazzez worked back to his feet and landed a spinning elbow. Alves responded with three consecutive body kicks that sent Lazzez falling to the canvas. A barrage of ground strikes followed up and the reef stepped in to rescue Lazzez. Sick!

Ike Villanueva def. Vinicius Moreira by KO at :39 of round 2: Light Heavyweight

Villanueva came blitzing with punching combinations. he would flurry and then reset, flurry and then reset. Moreira kind of just weathered the storm and tried to keep away from Villanueva. Moreira was throwing to some naked body kicks here and there. The second round didn’t last very long. Villanueva uncorked a monstrous right hand that completely floored Moreira. There was no need for any followup as the referee was right on top of the action to stop the match. Yikes!

Viviane Araujo def. Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 x2): (W) Flyweight

Araujo planted her feet and worked her boxing, landing as Modafferi closed the distance. It wasn’t until there was less than a minute remaining in the round that Modafferi went for a takedown. Araujo defended the takedown and finished up the round attacking with an RNC. Modafferi was faced with the same sort of firepower in the second round. When she did shoot in, Araujo was keen to it and was able to keep it standing. Modafferi kept pumping her jab and kept moving forward, getting herself back into the fight. Araujo hit a beautiful level change to put Modafferi on her back, but there wasn’t a lot of time left on the clock.

Modafferi was able to get to the back early in the final round, but Araujo fought hard to better her position and get a takedown of her own. The fight quickly returned to its feet, and Modafferi scored with a set of straights and started to bring the pressure. Araujo changed levels again to hit a takedown and remained safe on top until the bell.

Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Flyweight

It wasn’t a big surprise to see both fighters coming to stand and bang. Schnell was throwing in combinations while Nam was focused more on landing one big shot. Since Schnell was the one being more active, he was the one landing more strikes.

The same sort of pace melted into the second round. Schnell was scoring with his volume punching, with Nam occasional landing a solid single strike. Schnell was showing off tremendous hand speed, sometimes landing four punches at a time before Nam would even respond. Nam did start to throw more combinations towards the end of the round.

Nam got more active in the final round, throwing more than one punch at a time. Schnell did an excellent job of staying composed and having the vision to see the strikes coming at him. Although his output dwindled, he remained defensively sound against someone as powerful as Nam.

Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade by decision (29-28 x2, 30-27): Featherweight

It was Murphy who took the center of the Octagon top get things going. He was the one dictating the range at which the fight took place. Being the longer man, he was able to keep Silva de Andrade just outside of his striking range, while still being able to dart in and score himself.

Silva de Andrade quickly hit a takedown to start the seocnd round, and right away transitioned to the back. Murphy hit a slick roll to escape back up to his feet, where he had much more of an advantage. Silva de Andrade capitalized on an error from Murphy to take the fight back tot he floor, but it didn’t stay there for very long. Silva de Andrade started throwing heat, and even connected with a wicked liver shot that made Murphy switch stances. The leg kicks of Murphy had Silva de Andrade walking funny back to his corner.

Murphy went back to the leg kick in the final round, knocking Silva de Andrade to the ground momentarily. Silva de Andrade got up and started winging fight-enders at his opponent. An accidental cup kick to Murphy brought a pause to the match. Silva de Andrade got aggressive upon the restart. He went at Murphy with lead elbows, trying to get a finish. Murphy did a great job of moving and not giving Silva de Andrade a stationary target to hit. Murphy hit a takedown with about a minute left on the clock to finish the round punching away from top position.

Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese by submission (Arm Triangle) at 1:41 of round 2: Middleweight

Akhmedov found a lot of success from top piston in the opening round. He landed several bombs as Breese was stuck on the bottom. After owning Breese on top, the gas tank began to suffer for Akhmedov. Breese managed to attack a leg, and used that position to scramble all the way to the back of Akhmedov. The round expired before anything actually happened. The second round saw Breese dive for a calf slicer, but Akhmedov was able to escape right into an arm triangle attempt. The referee thought Akhmedov went out because he didn’t put up much of a fight, but then he started tapping out.