Sam Alvey built a lead against Da Un Jung at UFC 254, but a great effort in the third round from Jung caused a draw on the scorecards.
Da Un Jung got off to a fiery start after signing with the UFC last year, finishing both Khadis Ibragimov and Mike Rodriguez. After having two fights with Ed Herman fall through, Jung landed Sam Alvey at UFC 254. It had been a while since Alvey had his hand raised, with his last win coming in June 2018, losing in four fights since then.
Sam Alvey refused to touch gloves out of the gate and Da Un Jung took the center of the Octagon. He was peppering Alvey with kicks, slipping on one head kick attempt. Jung kept Alvey along the fence, but Alvey was able to fire back with a cracking straight punch. Alvey caught Jung with another combination, but was giving attention to his eye and Jung took advantage by landing a heavy combination marked by a few uppercuts. Alvey did not let that slow him down though, as he knocked Jung off balance several times with hard shots. Right before the end of the round, Jung caught Alvey with a second eye poke, but the referee did not pause the fight either time.
Alvey caught Jung early in the second round and Jung got back to work in the center of the cage, keeping Alvey along the fence. Alvey landed another combination on Jung, who fired back with a head kick. Alvey had been quietly racking up leg kicks throughout the fight and they were starting to make a difference. Jung had his head snapped back by another Alvey combination. A few more Alvey leg kicks preceded a Jung combination, but Alvey’s success rate was dwarfing Jung’s.
They are swinging! 👊@SmilenSam hitting is mark through two!
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— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2020
Alvey went right to the leg kick to start the final round, popping Jung twice with it. Jung caught Alvey with a crisp elbow that dropped him and Jung was able to land a bit of ground-and-pound, taking Alvey’s back in the process. Alvey muscled his way up though and caught Jung with a strong uppercut followed by a combination that featured multiple uppercuts finding the mark. Jung cracked Alvey with another elbow and had him stumbling, but Alvey was able to get a hold of him to limit further damage. Jung tried multiple times for a takedown and was simply running out of time to come back. With 30 seconds left, Jung exited the clinch and landed a crushing elbow again and Alvey stumbled backward. Jung wasn’t able to capitalize and they fought to a draw.
Sam Alvey and Da Un Jung Fight to a Split Draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
