Malcom Gordon VS Amir Albazi

When the fight cards for the four events taking place on Fight Island were first announced, not only were Malcolm Gordon and Amir Albazi not slated to compete, they weren’t even on the UFC roster.

Canada’s Gordon (12-3) will go to war with England’s Albazi (12-1) in a flyweight bout Saturday night at UFC Fight Island 2 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, a matchup in which both men will be making their UFC debuts. Gordon, 30, said he’s ecstatic to be part of Fight Island, an event the MMA world has been talking about for months.

“It’s pretty f**king cool. This is basically a historical moment,” said Gordon in an interview with MMA Empire.

The original matchup scheduled in this slot was between Tagir Ulanbekov and Oleksandr Doskalchuk. After Ulanbekov withdrew following the passing of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Gordon stepped in to take on Doskalchuk. A few days later, Doskalchuk was also forced out of action, opening the door for Albazi to step in with the help of Paradigm Sports Management. Albazi, 26, said he’s grateful for the opportunity to showcase his skills on the biggest stage, and even more excited to be able to do so on Fight Island.

“It means a lot to me as I have been waiting to test myself on the biggest stage, and now its finally time. I can’t wait to put on a show on Saturday,” said Albazi in an interview with MMA Empire.

“I’m happy to be a part of Fight Island and also to see how it is out here. The UFC has done an amazing job getting shows back on during this pandemic.”

As has been the case for all the UFC events hosted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Saturday’s event will take place without the usual capacity crowds. And although the atmosphere may not be quite what he imagined his UFC debut would look like, Gordon said not having any fans in attendance may be a positive situation. Following the famous trade that saw UFC flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson move to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren coming over to the UFC, Gordon said he wasn’t sure he’d ever had the opportunity to compete in the UFC, with the flyweight division appearing to be being phased out.

Now that the opportunity has indeed arrived, Gordon said he’s happy to have it but believes he needs to earn that first UFC win for it to really be official.

“It feels nice, but it’ll feel better once I get my first win,” said Gordon.