Arni “the Ice Viking” Isaksson lost the Cage Contender welterweight belt to Ali Arish tonight in Dublin. In the uneventful affair, Arish used his superior wrestling to keep the Icelandic fighter on the mat for the most part of the bout. Ultimately, it was a three round decision victory for Arish to earn the belt.
The first round was close, as Isaksson was able to keep the fight standing for most of the 4 minutes against the 38 year old veteran. Both fighters were able to land good shots on each other on the feet, but the take-downs from the UK trained fighter was the difference. Isaksson threatened with a kneebar early, and was successful in getting the fight back up to the feet, but the judges saw the round in favor of the wrestler who was able to bring the fight to the ground.
As the rounds moved on, Arish was able to use his wrestling to bring the bout to the mat again and again with double-leg takedowns as needed. Although tiring, with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, Arish turned more and more into a grappler. Arish moved from laying on top to landing with some damage as the bout came to a close. A frustrating night for Isaksson, who was never able to get his rythme.
Nelson was brought into the ring to talk about his recent UFC experience shortly after the bout. Nelson, who fought for the promotion twice and was in the corner of teammate Isaksson, said he would be fighting “soon”, but didn’t know yet. He also said he was “happy” with the bout against Santiago with so much of it staying on the feet.
