5 Rounds: Chan Sung Jung retains rising to event … and climbing
Marc RaimondiESPN
It was one other newsmaking UFC combat card Saturday night time in Greenville, South Carolina.
“The Korean Zombie,” also called Chan Sung Jung, bounced again from a heartbreaking loss. Randy Brown completed the always-durable Bryan Barberena. And Luis Peña dominated Matt Wiman, who was returning after a layoff of almost 4 years.
Listed below are 5 huge takeaways from the UFC’s first occasion in South Carolina:
Chan Sung Jung confirmed loads on Saturday night time … in 58 quick seconds. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Pictures
Chan Sung Jung continues to be a top-10 featherweight in 2019, maybe higher
What number of occasions can “The Korean Zombie” come again from being principally an afterthought within the featherweight division? Most of his absences have been via no fault of his personal. He missed almost 4 years between 2013 and 2017 with accidents and obligatory South Korean navy obligation. Then, after a knockout of Dennis Bermudez in his return, Jung tore up his knee and was out for almost two extra years. In that return final November, “TKZ” was knocked out within the last second of the fifth spherical by an upward-moving homing missile of an elbow from Yair Rodriguez.
Jung’s nickname is “Zombie,” however he has extra lives than a cat. He got here again seven months after that devastating Rodriguez loss — in a combat he was successful, thoughts you — to knock out Renato Moicano in 58 seconds Saturday night time. Moicano was No. 7 in ESPN’s featherweight rankings, method increased than Rodriguez was ranked. Jung is more likely to get an actual contender combat at 145 kilos earlier than 2019 is up. How cool would a combat between him and Jose Aldo be, a rematch of their 2013 title combat? Might you think about “The Korean Zombie” vs. “ZaBeast” Zabit Magomedsharipov?
Renato Moicano is much from finished, however wants to return to the drafting board
Ask anybody at American High Crew. The outfit has thought Moicano was a future UFC champion for a couple of years now, ever since he arrived in Coconut Creek, Florida. For a time, at the same time as lately as earlier this 12 months, that future regarded like a definite risk. Now, although, Moicano has misplaced two in row, to Aldo and Jung. These aren’t any slouches, in fact. And his solely different UFC defeat got here in opposition to Brian Ortega.
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However the 30-year-old Moicano’s rise is just not going to be as meteoric as some thought. That is OK. He nonetheless has loads of time and all of the instruments. The Brazilian is nice in all places and nonetheless owns wins over top-10 featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar. Moicano is not going anyplace any time quickly, regardless of this knockout loss in underneath a minute.
Randy Brown appears to be like prepared to meet his potential as a prospect
UFC president Dana White fell in love with Brown when he knocked out Robert Plotkin to defend the Ring of Fight welterweight title in November 2015. That bout was featured on White’s “Lookin’ for a Struggle” program, proper on the heels of the UFC’s signing of Sage Northcutt from one other episode of that very same present. Northcutt is gone from the UFC, having signed late final 12 months with ONE Championship. Brown may be very a lot nonetheless right here and now evidently rounding into kind.
Brown had expertise as an novice boxer earlier than MMA, possible one of many causes White favored him a lot. However he by no means confirmed a ton as a striker within the UFC till Saturday night time, in an entire efficiency in opposition to Bryan Barberena. Brown ended up ending Barberena with a barrage of blows within the third spherical, culminating in a devastating liver kick. Brown’s kicks to the physique have been glorious all night time. At 28 years previous, Brown is now the man White thought he was getting in 2015.
Andrea Lee had cause to rejoice after bettering Montana De La Rosa in all areas of MMA. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Pictures
Andrea Lee is a future UFC ladies’s flyweight title challenger
You possibly can write that down in pen. Lee regarded nice in defeating fellow contender Montana De La Rosa, bettering her in all elements of MMA. Lee is a former Muay Thai champion and very athletic. We all know how nicely she will do within the standup. However there have been occasions Saturday night time when she was greater than holding her personal within the grappling in opposition to De La Rosa, who is understood for her wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
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It is positively time for one more step up in competitors for Lee, maybe in opposition to somebody like Joanne Calderwood and even Joanna Jedrzejczyk. It is value noting that Lee has had two of the perfect performances of her profession prior to now 4 months, whereas coping with some very severe private points. Her husband, Donny Aaron, was lately arrested on home violence prices.
No, it wasn’t the perfect efficiency potential. Winn possible wished higher. Eric Spicely was very, very recreation in a three-round battle that Winn ended up successful by unanimous resolution. Winn, although, confirmed loads of instruments. Identified for his standout wrestling, Winn confirmed boxing that was was extraordinarily sharp and highly effective. Spicely simply has a granite chin and a much bigger coronary heart. The 2 of them earned $50,000 every for Struggle of the Night time.
Winn landed 169 important strikes, which can go into the historical past books. It was the best complete by a fighter in a three-round UFC debut. It additionally set the document for a UFC middleweight combat. Bear in mind, this man is meant to be only a wrestler. Winn will probably be undersized in each combat — he is simply 5-foot-6. However he has the palms, the wrestling and the horsepower to offer his 185-pound friends suits. Coaching on the common with guys equivalent to Cormier, Cain Velasquez and Khabib Nurmagomedov will not harm, both.