Three promising Korean mixed martial arts (MMA) players will go to the final match with a UFC contract.
Lee Jung-young (27, 9 wins and 1 loss), Park Hyeon-seong (27, 7 wins and 1 loss), and Choi Seung-guk (26, 6 wins and 1 loss) will be held at the mixed martial arts tournament ‘UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Spivak’ on the 5th (hereinafter Korean time). Participate in the ‘ROAD TO UFC’ finals.
‘ROAD TO UFC’, held at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is a quarter-final tournament in which Asia’s top MMA prospects participate. The winner is entitled to a formal contract with the UFC. It started with a total of 32 fighters in four weight classes, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight, and now only eight players remain to compete in the finals.
In the ROAD TO UFC finals, South Korea will be represented by three fighters: Seung-guk Choi and Hyeon-seong Park in the flyweight division, and Jung-yeong Lee in the featherweight division. Former Road FC featherweight champion Lee Jung-young will face off against Lee Ji (26, China) in the featherweight final안전놀이터 .
The fight is already fierce. Lee Ja wants revenge on Lee Jung-young on behalf of China. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, Lee Jung-young defeated Chinese fighters within one minute and advanced to the finals. He caught Xiebin (China) with an armbar submission in the quarterfinals, and KO’d Lu Kai (China) with punches in the quarterfinals.
In particular, it was Lee Jung-young’s war of nerves that touched Lee Ja’s planting. Lee Jung-young is famous for intensely provoking opponent fighters in his face-to-face encounters. When a nervous warfare intensifies, it can even lead to a physical fight.
Lee Ja sees Lee Jung-young provoking Chinese fighters and says he is rude and vows to correct his habit in the finals. So, in the face-to-face meeting that followed after the last semifinal match, she pushed her forehead wildly and struggled.
However, Lee Jung-young is not interested in her. At an online press conference in Korea, Lee Jung-young said, “The opponents we really have to compete with are the fighters in the top 5 of the UFC rankings.” It will be over in two minutes at the most,” he shouted.
He then warned, “The opposing player will have a very terrible day on the day of the match and face shocking results,” and “I hope they have a strong mindset in preparation for a nightmare.”
In the flyweight division, a Korean vs. Korean match is drawing attention. Choi Seung-guk, ‘Chung Chan-sung’s disciple’, and Park Hyeon-seong, ‘former Double-G FC champion’, will face off on a single bridge with a UFC contract.
Choi Seung-guk won a unanimous decision victory over Rama Spandi (Indonesia) in the quarterfinals and then also won a unanimous decision victory over Chiu Luan (China) in the semifinals to advance to the final. Park Hyeon-seong advanced to the final by defeating Jeremiah Sirega (Indonesia) by KO in the first round in the quarterfinals and Topnoi Kiaram (Thailand) by submission in the first round in the semifinals. Both fighters are not official UFC fighters yet, but this is the first fight between Korean fighters in the main UFC event.
Coach Jeong Chan-seong and his student Choi Seung-guk prepared a strategy tailored to Park Hyeon-seong. Choi Seung-guk hinted at the grappling fight, saying, “(Jung) Chan-sung and I always prepare a customized strategy for the opponent.”
In response, Park Hyeon-seong said, “This is consequential, so the person who wins is actually the strongest. So I just want to show that I am stronger by winning.”
Park Hyeon-seong is not preparing a separate strategy tailored to Choi Seung-guk. He shouted, “I just think that doing what I do best is the way to beat my opponent.”
Four Korean UFC fighters, including ‘Korean Superboy’ Choi Doo-ho (31, 14 wins, 4 losses), will also participate in the event that day.
Choi Doo-ho faces Kyle Nelson (31, Canada), who has a record of 1 win and 4 losses in the UFC, in his return match after 3 years and 2 months. In the co-main event, Jeong Da-un clashes with Devin Clark (32, USA).
Middleweight fighter Park Jun-yong will fight Dennis Tulyulin (34, Russia), and female flyweight Kim Ji-yeon will compete with Mandi Böhm (33, Germany).
In the main event, heavyweight No. 7 Derek Lewis (37, USA) and No. 12 Sergei Spivak (28, Moldova) face off.
UFC Fight Night: Lewis VS Spivak main card will be broadcast live on tvN SPORTS and TVING from 3:00 pm on the 5th. Undercard, where ROAD TO UFC finals will be held, will be broadcast live from 12:00 pm on tvN SPORTS and TVING.