UFC Fight Island 2 recap: Kelvin Gastelum drops third loss in a row as Jack Hermansson gets quick heel hook
- ‘The Joker’ makes light work of former middleweight challenger with 78-second submission in Abu Dhabi co-main event
- Rafael Fiziev sends warning to lightweight division while Ariane Lipski secures brutal knee bar
Kelvin Gastelum didn’t see it coming. Neither did the UFC’s commentary team of Michael Bisping and Paul Felder. But Jack Hermansson (21-5) had promised to bring something spectacular to Fight Island 2 on Sunday.
And there it was, a heel hook from the Swedish middleweight that had Gastelum (15-5, one no contest) tapping at 1:18 of the first round, and had those commentary boys shaking their heads.
“I believed that he would disengage and stand up, actually,” said the 32-year-old in his post-fight interview with Felder. “So I tried to be aggressive from the bottom. I’m not so much on my back in my fights, almost never, so people don’t know how dangerous of a game I have from there. Now they have a clue, they don’t know everything.”
There were two kicks thrown – both by “The Joker” – before he took hold of Gastelum, took him to the canvas, and went to work. He was on the bottom, he saw the leg, and he made his move. Game over.
“Every time I step in there it’s so much pressure,” Hermansson said. “Everything I do in my life is working to this goal – to become the best in the world. And when you get the victory there is no feeling like it. I love it, man.”