Cory Sandhagen made people forget all about his most recent Octagon appearance.
Sandhagen finished Marlon Moraes Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Island 4. The event streamed live on ESPN+ from Abu Dhabi and UFC Fight Island.
After a back-and-forth first round, Sandhagen caught Moraes with a spinning back-kick and finished him on the ground with several brutal shots.
HEEL KICK TO THE DOME 🤯
⌛️ @Cors_Life has arrived on Fight Island!
[ #UFCFightIsland5 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/p0tHHDUTNs
— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2020
In the co-main event, Edson Barboza bested Makwan Amirkhani via decision.
Heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Tom Aspinall each picked up victories.
Tybura bested Ben Rothwell over three rounds with Aspinall finishing Alan Baudot in the first via strikes.
Dricus du Plessis earned a first round knockout over Markus Perez and Ilia Topuria downed Youssef Zalal by decision.
One of the highlights of the night came on the prelims.
In the middleweight division, Joaquin Buckley connected with a spinning back-kick on Impa Kasanganay. The move ended the fight in the second round just over two minutes to it.
THIS IS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST KNOCKOUTS YOU WILL EVER SEE! 💥
TAKE A BOW, JOAQUIN BUCKLEY! 👏#UFCFightIsland5 pic.twitter.com/NOfad1hdD2
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) October 10, 2020
Buckley also took the MMA social media world by storm for his finish.
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR FROM JOAQUIN BUCKLEY 😤🤯
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/iPcEdY1o47
— SI Ringside (@SI_Ringside) October 10, 2020
Kasanganay also offered his appreciation for the fight-ending strike.
“God bless you,” he posted. “It was an honor to step in the Octagon with you and to do what I love. Safe travels to you and your team. Beautiful shot. Way to fight. I will improve.”
Impa Kasanganay sent a gracious message to Joaquin Buckley after their fight, which ended with a spectacular knockout 🤝 #UFCFightIsland5
(via @kingimpa) pic.twitter.com/2WlJwBTMXH
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 11, 2020
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in MMA. Take a bow, Joaquin Buckley. KO of the Year candidate. #UFCFightIsland5
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 10, 2020
Tom Breese capped of the prelims with a finish of his own, as did Chris Daukaus.
Tony Kelley, Giga Chikadze, Tracy Cortez and Tagir Ulanbekov were all winners.
UFC Fight Island 5 Results
Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Moraes via TKO (strikes) at 1:03 of Round 2
Edson Barboza def. Makwan Amirkhani via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
Marcin Tybura def. Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Dricsu du Plessis def. Markus Perez via KO (strike) at 3:22 of Round 1
Tom Aspinall def. Alan Baudot via TKO (strikes) at 1:35 of Round 1
Ilia Topuria def. Youssef Zalal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Tom Breese def. KB Bhullar via TKO (strikes) at 1:42 of Round 1
Chris Daukaus def. Rodrigo Nascimento via KO (strike) at :45 of Round 1
Joaquin Buckley def. Impa Kasanganay via KO (spinning back-kick) at 2:03 of Round 2
Tony Kelley def. Ali AlQaisi via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Giga Chikadze def. Omar Morales via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tracy Cortez def. Stephanie Egger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tagir Ulanbekov def. Bruno Gustavo da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)