UFC Busan – Review

Alastair Bishop Posted On December 24, 2019

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Chan Sung Jung, more commonly known as “The Korean Zombie”, defeated Frankie Edgar via a first round TKO in the main event in Busan. With the victory, “The Korean Zombie” continues his ascent through the featherweight division, having won 6 of his 8 fights inside the Octagon.
- Discussing the experience of fighting in front of a home crowd, “The Korean Zombie” said:“I am really happy. This is my present just in time for Christmas. I wanted to fight Edgar for 25 minutes. This part I regret, but I guess it’s relieving. I’ve been travelling back and forth for 10 weeks. I deserved this win. It did give me a lot of pressure to fight at home. For my last fights, I was the main event and I was fighting abroad. It is different, but it prepared me to fight tonight a main event, in front of my home crowd. Going into the octagon, I don’t pay a lot of attention to the crowd around me, I’m completely focused on the fight, and tonight was the same. I’m really happy with the result tonight and I’m glad I could put on a show for the fans. I’m really thankful that so many people showed up today to support me and let’s do it again, this time in Seoul!”

In the card’s co-main event, Volkan Oezdemir defeated fellow European Aleksandar Rakic in a decision victory. Volkan is on his second victory in a row after obtaining the win over a challenging opponent such as Rakic. He will be keen to keep the momentum in the light heavyweight division.
- Commenting on his performance and his future fight plans, Oezdemir said:“I felt really good. The more the round was going, the more the fight was mine. I could feel his body get tired, get weaker. Every time I was hitting him with the body shots or knee to the body, I felt his breath going away. I also saw his mental going down and down, so the fight was becoming more mine each round. 2020 will be my year. I was battling some injuries during this camp, but I didn’t want to give up for the Korean fans, for all the UFC fans. I kept on going. I’m not somebody who gives up. I fight through the injuries, I fight through the toughness and I’m here in the Octagon just to face all the danger and go out victorious. I’m waiting in the corner for Reyes. He is going to do his thing and as soon as he is back, I’m going to be here waiting for him. In the meantime, there is someone I want to face again and that person is Anthony Smith.”

French heavyweight Ciryl Gane continued the impressive start to his career with a unanimous decision victory over the more experienced Tanner Boser. “Bon Gamin” ends the year having won all three of his UFC contests and is poised for a breakout 2020.
- Reflecting on the bout and a successful 2019, Gane said: “I felt very confident and at ease during the three rounds. Boser is not an easy opponent. I think I was missing a little bit of my precision and it made it harder for me. I feel really good to be extending my unbeaten record and I’m happy that I had the opportunity to fight three times in the last six months. It’s really nice, but I’m a little bit sad that this is the first time that I didn’t get to finish my opponent. Now, I’m going to rest a little bit and ideally be back by March or April.”

Brazilian Amanda Lemos triumphed over Miranda Granger with a thrilling submission victory in the first round of their strawweight bout. Lemos secured her first UFC win and improves her professional MMA record to 7-1-1.
- Delighted with her performance, Lemos said:“I had a really rough time not being able to compete, but God is so good that he brought me back. I’m really happy to be back and take this win home feels even more special. I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling. It felt great to be back and fight in my division. Strawweight is where I feel the most comfortable and I’ll keep fighting in this division until I am the champion. The rear-naked choke is a position that I train a lot, I’m really strong at it and thankfully I was able to use it in the best way possible in my return. I don’t pick opponents, but I would just like to have the opportunity to fight more, show my work, my evolution after each fight. I would especially like to fight at UFC Brasilia, I would love to fight at home.”

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