At the UFC 227 televised prelims we saw a battle of bantamweight prospects in Ricardo Ramos and Kyung Ho Kang, which turned out to be a close, fun striking affair.
Ricardo Ramos was only two fights into his UFC career coming into UFC 227, and he had made a big impact in those two. With an incredible win over Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 217, he had a fair bit of hype behind him. However, he was running into another fighter at bantamweight that was just now hitting his stride despite being in the UFC for years: Kyung Ho Kang. The Korean had won his last three fights and appeared to be hitting his prime. And while military service in his native South Korea had put his career on hold, he returned to action earlier this year in a successful effort against Guido Cannetti. A first round submission win, in fact.
Getting to the action at UFC 227, Ricardo Ramos and Kyung Ho Kang had an exciting fight to say the least, one that showed us the potential of both men. The entire fight was closely contested; Ramos looked especially great on the feet. He looked extremely comfortable once he had his range figured out and landed plenty of good shots on Kang, mixing things up a fair bit. Kang on the other hand looked for takedowns and attempted to implement his wrestling game.
Yet Ramos was not all about the standout game. In a sequence that looked like it could lead to a finish, he tried for a knee-bar submission, only for Kang to pull free and scramble to his feet. Still, points for effort on that one.
👊 @RicardoRamosMMA starting to find his range#UFC227 pic.twitter.com/dmxtubQtpM
— UFC Aus/New Zealand (@UFC_AUSNZ) August 5, 2018
Both fighters showed they have lots of potential in the bantamweight division, and it will be fun to see where both go. Especially Ricardo Ramos, who is only 23 and still a good ways from his prime. A good win for the very young prospect, and it appears his striking gave him the edge with the judges.
Ricardo Ramos def. Kyung Ho Kang by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
