Zombie’s return and Deron Winn’s debut among the bonus winners at UFC Greenville on Saturday.
As the UFC rolled into Greenville, South Carolina for the first time on Saturday, it brought with it a card that felt like it could go either way. Outside of the main event, featuring fan favorite Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie, there weren’t a lot of marquee-friendly names. Especially after John Lineker withdrew from the card due to a cut suffered in training.
Yet despite that, the Fight Night event still had promise, as one of those cards that over-performs. And in the end, UFC Greenville did just that, on a Saturday full of combat sports action thanks to Bellator’s trip to London, and Artem Lobov vs. Paulie Malignaggi at BKFC 6.
That made the field of candidates for bonuses relatively deep. And while Andre Ewell and Anderson dos Santos made a strong case for Fight of the Night, it was the card opener that earned the nod. Newcomer Deron Winn, a pupil of none other than Daniel Cormier, took on the returning Eric Spicely in that middleweight scrap. By the end, it was a slugfest, with Winn, vastly undersized despite previously competing at 205lbs, holding on to claim victory.
Not a bad start to Winn’s UFC career, as he improved to 6-0 on the night. Not a bad return for Spicely, either, who looked greatly improved since his last trip to the octagon.
Performance of the Night bonuses, meanwhile, went to heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik for his nine second knockout of Allen Crowder, and The Koren Zombie. Not at all surprising, given the South Korean featherweight dropped Brazil’s Renato Moicano within a minute.
All four fighters will receive an extra $50,000 for their efforts.
