UFC Fight Island 8 has a new main event. Dana White told The Schmo last night that the promotion was moving forward with Michael Chiesa (17-4) and Neil Magny (24-7) as the main event of UFC Fight Island 8.
The fight between the top ten UFC welterweights was originally supposed to be the co-main event of the evening. However, after Khamzat Chimaev (9-0) had to pull out of the main event due to COVID, Chiesa and Magny get promoted.
White said in the interview that both of these guys deserve this spot. This will be the second UFC headliner for both Magny and Chiesa. Magny headlined a card with Kelvin Gastelum in 2015 while Chiesa headlined a card with Kevin Lee in 2017.
Chiesa has looked really good since moving up to the welterweight division. The former UFC lightweight had lost two in a row before making the jump to 170. Since doing that, he’s riding a three-fight winning streak.
Neil Magny made his UFC return in 2020 after serving a suspension. Magny went 3-0 this year and capped off his 2020 with a victory over former UFC welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler.
UFC will keep Chimaev – Edwards
After Khamzat Chimaev fell out of the UFC Fight Island 8 main event, Leon Edwards (18-3) made it clear that he still wanted to fight on January 20th. The promotion looked into options to accommodate Edwards.
However, ultimately the promotion decided to keep the Chimaev – Edwards fight together. White also told The Schmo that the UFC will keep the Edwards – Chimaev fight and it will be rebooked in early 2021.
Chimaev had COVID-19 in early December. Despite testing negative now, he’s still dealing with some of the effects. A doctor told him that he shouldn’t train until early January due to the impact on his lungs according to White.
The UFC President said there is no date for the matchup just yet. You have to really feel for Leon Edwards who missed all of 2020 due to the pandemic and other opportunities falling through. His last fight came in July of 2019.