UFC Fight Night results — Chan Sung Jung wasn’t zombie-like in beating Dan Ige, he was better

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Kane Dane
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It was removed from essentially the most thrilling zombie film ever made. And that earns Chan Sung Jung a glowingly constructive assessment.

At no level throughout Saturday’s UFC predominant occasion was Jung put via the horrors that we’ve come to count on from the indestructible profession of the person greatest often called “The Korean Zombie.” He was poised, methodical, environment friendly and by no means in hassle in profitable a unanimous resolution over Dan Ige at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

That bodes properly for the way forward for the 34-year-old from South Korea and his hopes of getting a second shot on the UFC males’s featherweight championship.

Jung has given MMA followers loads of pleasure via the years. This was his eighth straight predominant occasion, and it ended up being his first victory to go the space since manner again in 2008. Since then, Jung has ended each win by both knockout or submission, with the latter being his path to victory in a 2012 end of Dustin Poirier that propelled Jung right into a problem of then-champion Jose Aldo. That title struggle didn’t go Jung’s manner, and he’s been in pursuit of one other one ever since.

He gave the impression to be on the verge of a second likelihood final October, when he confronted Brian Ortega in what was ostensibly a No. 1 contender showdown. However Ortega absolutely managed that struggle and now’s teaching on The Final Fighter in opposition to champion Alexander Volkanovski, with a title bout quickly to come back. Jung, in the meantime, was left to earn his manner again into rivalry, and Saturday night time was a promising first step.

Whether or not Jung has what it takes to win the belt and even get a second shot at it stays to be seen, however one factor is bound: He has a significantly better likelihood by preventing the way in which he fought on Saturday night time than he would by being the Zombie of outdated.

Ige had known as him out, having watched Jung placed on never-say-die performances repeatedly through the years. Ige had a plan for how one can cease that man, however he didn’t seem to have a solution for the Jung who walked into the cage smiling, a sign of how free and flowing the South Korean could be for the 5 rounds to come back. Jung left few openings, and when he discovered one in Ige, he seized upon it.

The bout was not one-sided. The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, all for Jung, however Ige landed his photographs. He simply by no means was in a position to flip his opponent into the Zombie. Jung was too calm and on level for that.

“I wished to point out all the talents and the aptitude of being champion,” Jung mentioned.

Jung’s boxing was clean, from his footwork and head motion to the sharp, straight punches he landed. His takedowns had been well timed and efficient, and as soon as he had the struggle on the canvas, he was in a position to achieve dominant positions and a number of other instances threaten so as to add Ige to his string of finishes. Jung fought a sensible struggle, which is the type of struggle he should make use of if he ever will get inside grabbing distance of a gold belt.

Some may mourn the disappearance of the Zombie, however true struggle followers may quickly study that this man can ship a thrill a minute even when he’s not plodding ahead just like the undead. The plot thickens.

— Jeff Wagenheim

Brett Okamoto on who’s subsequent for …

Chan Sung Jung: Needs to be Calvin Kattar, proper? Jung was already the No. 4 ranked featherweight contender going into Saturday, so it’s not a lot of a present to provide him the No. 5 ranked Kattar after a powerful displaying in opposition to Ige … however I don’t assume he’ll get a greater choice.

The previous champion, Max Holloway, remains to be forward of him by way of getting a title shot. Brian Ortega, who Jung misplaced 5 rounds to in October, remains to be awaiting his shot in opposition to champion Alexander Volkanovski. The place does that depart Jung, even after a stable win? Kattar hasn’t fought since his five-round loss to Holloway in January, and he’s been focusing on a fall return. That is the struggle to make. Once more, it most likely gained’t really feel like a lot of a step up for Jung, however he’s not fairly deserving of a title shot but.

Dan Ige: Earlier than something, a pleasant break. Ige fought in March and was seeking to take a while off to have fun the beginning of his son in April, however ended up accepting this chance and leaping proper again into camp. Let the 29-year-old take pleasure in fatherhood for a minute. And when he returns, there isn’t any scarcity of choices. Josh Emmett, Arnold Allen, Sodiq Yusuff … these are all fights that not solely make sense, however they’re unbelievable model matchups, too.

There’s one which stands out, although: Shane Burgos, who’s coming off a loss to Edson Barboza a month in the past in Houston. Two guys who hit like vans at 145, however who’re each coming off a loss. It makes essentially the most sense, and it additionally occurs to be essentially the most interesting matchup, for my part.

Outcomes by Okamoto:

Heavyweight: Serghei Spivac (13-2, 4-2 UFC) defeats Aleksei Oleinik (59-16-1, 8-7 UFC) by unanimous resolution

Spivak, of Ukraine, managed to get previous Oleinik by way of unanimous resolution, though he was very practically choked out within the second spherical.

Spivak picked up unanimous 29-28 scores in a heavyweight struggle that was fairly simple to attain — however solely after he was saved by the bell within the center body. Oleinik moved to full mount with 15 seconds left within the spherical and practically secured an arm-triangle choke.

Past that scare, nevertheless, it was Spivak’s struggle. He did properly defending Oleinik’s takedown makes an attempt within the opening spherical, and took benefit of his 43-year-old opponent’s fatigue within the third. Spivak labored behind the jab and the appropriate hand to obviously outstrike Oleinik on the ft.

It was not a riveting win for Spivak, 26, nevertheless it extends his profitable streak to a few. For Oleinik, it marks his third loss in a row, which is the longest skid of his profession.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Males’s bantamweight: Marlon Vera (17-7-1, 11-6 UFC) defeats Davey Grant (13-5, 5-3 UFC) by unanimous resolution

Making his seventeenth UFC look, Vera showcased somewhat little bit of all the things en path to a convincing resolution win over Grant.

Judges scored the struggle 30-26, 29-27 and 29-28 for Vera as he bested Grant on the ft and on the bottom. He very practically secured a rear-naked choke within the remaining minute of the bantamweight struggle earlier than in the end deciding on the choice — a pleasant consequence following a loss to Jose Aldo his final outing.

Grant, of England, opened the struggle free and appeared somewhat extra snug than Vera early. He opened up with leg and physique kicks, whereas Vera appeared to search out his rhythm. Even so, Grant did not land something important and it didn’t take lengthy for Vera to start out placing his personal leg kicks to make use of later within the spherical.

Vera, who was born in Ecuador and fights out of California, actually began to take management within the second spherical. He opened a reduce close to Grant’s hairline with standing elbows and continued to depend on leg kicks. After Grant secured a doubtlessly large takedown, Vera threatened with a triangle try and moved to prime place.

Each fighters earned $50,000 for fight-of-the-night honors.

Instantly after the bout, Vera known as out former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who was working cageside as a play-by-play commentator.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Males’s featherweight: Seungwoo Choi (10-3, 3-2 UFC) defeats Julian Erosa (25-10, 3-5 UFC) by first-round KO

After beginning his UFC profession 0-2, South Korea’s Choi is now on a three-fight profitable streak.

Choi landed his first knockout within the UFC over Erosa, and it was emphatic. The 28-year-old dropped Erosa with a left hook to the chin and completed the featherweight bout with hammerfists at 1:07 of the primary spherical. Erosa rapidly bought up and protested the stoppage, nevertheless it was clearly the appropriate name by referee Mark Smith.

Choi signed with the UFC in 2019, and drew back-to-back robust assignments in opposition to Movsar Evloev and Gavin Tucker. Choi misplaced these fights by way of resolution and rear-naked choke, respectively. Since then, nevertheless, Choi has posted wins in opposition to Suman Mokhtarian, Youssef Zalal and now Erosa. Choi earned $50,000 for a performance-of-the-night bonus.

Erosa, who trains out of Washington and has fought out and in of the UFC since 2015, had a two-fight win streak snapped.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Middleweight: Bruno Silva (20-6, 1-0 UFC) defeats Wellington Turman (16-5, 1-3 UFC) by first-round KO

Turman labored very onerous to get Silva to the bottom within the opening spherical of their middleweight struggle. Looking back, that may have been the incorrect technique.

Silva, of Paraiba, Brazil, knocked Turman out with strikes on the bottom on the 4:45 mark of the struggle. The end got here after Turman spent the whole first spherical making an attempt to take Silva down. Turman shot on Silva repeatedly within the opening minutes and did handle to take his again at one level, earlier than ending up on the underside.

Silva, who was making his UFC debut, remained calm within the grappling exchanges, even when Turman slammed him to the canvas on a number of events. After Turman took his again whereas the 2 had been nonetheless on their ft halfway via the spherical, Silva escaped and ended up on his knees in Turman’s guard.

From there, Silva unleashed some nasty floor and pound that put Turman out chilly. Silva is now 17-0 in fights that finish by way of knockout, with 12 of these ending inside the primary spherical.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Welterweight: Matt Brown (25-18, 16-12 UFC) defeats Dhiego Lima (17-9, 4-7 UFC) by second-round KO

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0:55

Matt Brown knocks out Dhiego Lima with one punch and instantly is aware of it.

Add one other clip to Matt “The Immortal” Brown’s spotlight reel.

Brown, 40, landed a crushing proper hand on Lima at 3:02 of the second spherical for a walk-off, one-punch knockout. The shot folded up Lima instantly, and Brown walked away earlier than referee Herb Dean even had an opportunity to intervene.

The knockout marked Brown’s first win since December 2019, and it didn’t essentially come simple. Lima, of Golas, Brazil, landed a number of very onerous calf kicks within the opening spherical, which visibly caught Brown’s consideration. Brown appeared to push the tempo and get in shut within the second spherical to keep away from the kicks.

Lima did properly peeling away from Brown’s makes an attempt to shut the space and appeared properly positioned to proceed attacking the leg. The struggle modified on a dime, nevertheless, as soon as Brown landed the crushing proper hand.

After profitable three in a row between 2018 and 2019, Lima has now dropped his final two. Brown bounces again from losses to Miguel Baeza and Carlos Condit and earned $50,000 for a performance-of-the-night bonus.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Mild heavyweight: Nicolae Negumereanu (10-1, 1-1 UFC) defeats Aleksa Camur (6-2, 2-2 UFC) by cut up resolution

Negumereanu would merely not be denied his first UFC win as he walked Camur down and compelled him into heavy exchanges over the course of three rounds.

From the opening bell, it was apparent that Camur, a teammate of former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in Cleveland, wished to make use of footwork and angles to remain one step forward of his plodding 205-pound opponent. Negumereanu refused to take his foot off the gasoline although, and reduce off the cage on Camur at each alternative.

The consequence was a back-and-forth struggle on the ft that noticed each males have success. Camur did properly slipping punches and touchdown counters at instances, however he was vulnerable to Negumereanu drawing him right into a brawl. Camur landed with somewhat extra consistency, however Negumereanu landed essentially the most important photographs.

The toughest strike of the struggle might need occurred within the third spherical, when Negumereanu wobbled Camur with an overhand proper after altering ranges on a takedown. Camur survived however stopped throwing punches for an prolonged time frame.

Negumereanu obtained a number of warnings for holding onto the fence to maintain Camur trapped within the clinch, however referee Mike Beltran opted to not take some extent. He did sternly warn Negumereanu for the infraction close to the top of the third spherical.

A standout on Contender Collection in 2019, the 25-year-old Camur falls to 1-2 within the UFC. Negumereanu, of Romania, picks up his first win since 2018.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba (17-2, 3-2 UFC) defeats Kanako Murata (12-2, 1-1 UFC) by second-round TKO

Jandiroba, of Bahia, Brazil, picked up a TKO victory on the finish of the second spherical — though the struggle most likely might have been stopped even sooner.

The strawweight struggle ended between the second and third rounds when a ringside doctor dominated Murata, of Tokyo, couldn’t proceed attributable to an injured left arm. Murata’s arm was clearly compromised the whole second body after Jandiroba caught her in a deep armbar try on the finish of the primary spherical.

Murata couldn’t even raise the arm above her waist to defend herself after that preliminary spherical, however neither her nook nor the referee stopped the competition. Instantly after the struggle, Jandiroba mentioned she felt Murata’s arm “pop” a number of instances in the course of the armbar try.

It was a dominant efficiency by Jandiroba total, and he or she rebounded from a loss to Mackenzie Dern her final outing. She damage Murata with proper fingers within the first minute of the bout, earlier than injuring Murata’s arm on the ground. She is now 3-1 in her final 4.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Welterweight: Khaos Williams (12-2, 3-1 UFC) defeats Matthew Semelsberger (8-3, 2-1 UFC) by unanimous resolution

Coming off his first loss within the UFC, Williams strung collectively a powerful quarter-hour to get again into the win column in opposition to a really sport Semelsberger.

Williams, of Detroit, defeated Semelsberger by way of unanimous resolution by scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. His pace and energy had an impact early as he bloodied Semelsberger’s nostril and mouth within the opening spherical. However Semelsberger confirmed coronary heart and challenged Williams on the ft via the ultimate bell.

In keeping with UFC Stats, Williams outlanded Semelsberger in whole strikes 108 to 56. He repeatedly blitzed ahead with flurries to attain factors, though he sometimes walked into right-hand counters from Semelsberger. Semelsberger additionally did a few of his greatest work with kicks to Williams’ lead left leg, which clearly bothered Williams by the top of the struggle.

In the end although, Williams’ boxing prevailed and he improved his UFC file to 3-1. His solely loss got here in opposition to Michel Pereira in his final struggle in December.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Heavyweight: Josh Parisian (14-4, 1-1 UFC) defeats Roque Martinez (15-8-2, 0-3 UFC) by cut up resolution

Parisian, a Contender Collection alum, picked up his first UFC win in a heavyweight bout that changed into a warfare of attrition. Parisian, 31, and Martinez, 35, usually exchanged punches and knees within the clinch and at boxing vary all through. It was very forwards and backwards, as proven by the scores. Two judges had it 29-28 for Parisian, one other noticed it 29-28 for Martinez.

Martinez, of Guam, confirmed good strain on the ft, significantly within the opening spherical. He threw punches to maneuver into the clinch, and reduce Parisian beneath his left eye early within the struggle.

Parisian tailored to the strain within the second and third rounds, nevertheless, and did a greater job mixing up his strikes. His knees to the physique had been very efficient, as had been his entrance kick and elbows excessive. Martinez continued to work and land winging punches. The third spherical was razor shut.

Parisian joined the UFC final yr and misplaced his promotional debut to Parker Porter in November.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Light-weight: Rick Glenn (22-6-1, 4-3 UFC) defeats Joaquim Silva (11-4, 4-3 UFC) by first-round TKO

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In his first struggle since 2018, Ricky Glenn makes fast work of Joaquim Silva with a knockout in Spherical 1.

Glenn, of Marshalltown, Iowa, has been preventing professionally for practically 15 years. Saturday’s knockout might need been his greatest but.

Glenn, 32, made fast work of Silva as he put the Brazilian out with punches simply 37 seconds into their light-weight bout. It was Glenn’s first end within the UFC, and first total since 2016.

The end got here shortly after Glenn damage Silva badly with a counter left hand, as Silva got here ahead with punches. Silva managed to bounce again up however was nonetheless damage, and referee Mike Beltran stepped in after Glenn dropped him once more with a brief uppercut.

It was a welcome consequence for Glenn, who hadn’t competed since November 2018 attributable to damage and a constructive COVID-19 take a look at in December.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

Ladies’s flyweight: Casey O’Neill (7-0, 2-0 UFC) defeats Lara Procopio (7-2, 1-2 UFC) by third-round submission

Australian flyweight prospect O’Neill remained undefeated with a powerful upset win over Brazil’s Procopio.

O’Neill, who was born in Scotland however fights out of Australia, submitted Procopio by way of rear-naked choke on the 2:54 mark of the third spherical. O’Neill has now completed each of the opponents she’s confronted within the UFC. She scored a TKO in opposition to Shana Dobson in February.

The submission capped off a really full displaying by the 23-year-old O’Neill, who has solely been preventing professionally since 2019. After a aggressive opening spherical that came about totally on the ft, O’Neil settled into her floor sport, with elbows from prime place and the submission end.

Procopio, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, was really the one who first appeared to take issues to the bottom. However O’Neill proved to be fairly snug there, and made Procopio pay on a number of events with strikes on the bottom and strikes within the clinch after defending takedown makes an attempt.

Watch this struggle on ESPN+.

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