It wasn’t hard to see who had post-fight money coming their way at UFC Busan, with Charles Jourdain and Doo-Ho Choi picking up Fight of the Night.
The final UFC card of the year has come and gone. UFC Busan flew a bit under the radar until Brian Ortega was forced out due to a partially torn ACL. With former lightweight champ and multi-time featherweight title challenger Frankie Edgar stepping in to take his place short-notice, potentially delaying his debut at bantamweight in 2020, however, suddenly, the card had a higher profile. If only through circumstance.
In the end, it was a solid night for South Korean athletes. Five local fighters picked up key wins on the night. That included main event fighter Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie. Zombie (16-5) ended Edgar’s night — and possibly his time in the featherweight division — with a first round TKO. It came in a fight that never really saw Edgar firing on all cylinders. The finished earned the Korean star one of two Performance of the Night bonuses.
A pass might be given for Edgar given the short notice nature of the fight, though he had been preparing for a fight against Cory Sandhagen in January. However, nothing can be taken away from Zombie. He’s now stopped two dangerous fighters in a row, both within a round.
The other Performance of the Night bonus was awarded to Alexandre Pantoja (22-4), a top flyweight whose devastating knockout of Matt Schnell got the audience on its feet early in the card.
Fight of the Night, meanwhile, went to Doo-Ho Choi (14-4) and Charles Jourdain (10-2). Choi, still serving out his mandatory military stint in South Korea, took advantage of a home town card. He looked good early in the fight, having Canada’s Jourdain hurt on multiple occasions. However the former TKO double-champ held on, rallying back at the end of the opening round. The second was another thrilling affair, with both fighters firing off flying knees and a number of more precise attacks. But it was Jourdain earning the TKO finish towards the end of the round — securing his first win inside the octagon in the process.
Attendance for UFC Busan at the Sajik Arena was announced as 10,651 during the post-fight press conference.
