UFC Busan closes out 2019 with an early morning card from South Korea headlined by the Korean Zombie taking on former champion Frankie Edgar. Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (180-101) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (173-100) | | |  | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (137-80) | | | | | | |
| Keith Shillan (135-83) | | | | | |  |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (167-114) | | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (164-112) | | | | |  | |
| Dan Doherty (165-116) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (164-117) | |  | | | | |
| Mike McClory (116-88) | | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (116-89) | | | | | | |
UFC Busan was originally headlined by Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega, but Ortega unfortunately pulled out with an injury. He was then replaced on short notice by Frankie Edgar. Jung is coming off a first-minute knockout against Renato Moicano, while Edgar last appeared in a title shot against then-champion Max Holloway in June. Eight of 10 writers picked the Korean Zombie.
The co-main event is a great light heavyweight battle between Volkan Oezdemir and Aleksander Rakic. Oezdemir just snapped a three-fight losing streak with a peak performance against Ilir Latifi. Rakic is 4-0 in the UFC and is coming off a brilliant knockout over Jimi Manuwa. All but two writers picked Rakic.
Doo Ho Choi makes his long-awaited return to the cage against Canadian prospect Charles Jourdain. Choi last fought in February 2018, when he fell to Jeremy Stephens in a main event. Jourdain made his promotional debut in May, falling to Desmond Green. Choi was unanimously picked.
Da Un Jung and Mike Rodriguez face off in a light heavyweight bout. Jung is coming off a come-from-behind victory in his promotional debut, while Rodriguez is 1-2 in the Octagon after a terrific performance on the Contender Series. Jung was favored by six of 10 writers.
Marc-Andre Barriault looks to right the course against Jun Yong Park. Barriault was a two-division champion in TKO MMA, but has lost his first two bouts in the UFC. Park fell in promotional debut in August. All but one writer picked Barriault.
Kyung Ho Kang looks to extend his win streak against Pingyuan Liu. Kang is 5-2 in the Octagon having won his last two bouts. Liu had a 10-fight win streak snapped in July and he is now 2-1 in the UFC. Kang was unanimously picked.
