Flyweight, Jiniushiyue Vs. Dong Hoon Choi
Tale of the Tape
Shanghai, China
23
Five-foot-eight
13-3
Combined opponent’s record: 42-35
Seoul, South Korea
25
Five-foot-six
6-0
Combined opponent’s record: 23-16-4
Pros and Cons
Jiniushiyue
Pros
- Good defensive wrestling
- Heavy top position
- Heavy ground and pound
- Solid wrestling
- Fast hands
- Good chain-wrestling
- Scrambles well
Cons
- Chin straight up
- Repetitive with his hands
Dong Hoon Choi
Pros
- Uses a lot of feints
- Counter strikes well
- Goon in the clinch
- Active jab
- Improved kickboxing
- Throws in twos
Cons
- Doesn’t like pressure
- Vulnerable in exchanges
- Too patient
- Sloppy in extended combinations
- Suspect cardio
- One-dimensional
Prediction: Jiniushiyue fought last season and lost in the finals to a stud in Rei Tsuruya. I’m glad to see him back because he has some promise.
Choi is the undefeated fighter but he leaves a lot to be desired. He has the skill to be very good but lacks the ability to put it together. I’d like to see him open up more but a big reason why he doesn’t is because his gas tank drains. Another reason is he’s too sloppy and vulnerable when pressing the pace.
Jiniushiyue isn’t much of a striker as he’s limited and throws just about the same one-two every time. He does at least have fast hands and I think that will allow him to escape in counters. I bet Jiniushiyue is going to come out looking to wrestle. Choi has no interest in that so it’s going to be tough for him. Choi hasn’t fought anyone like Jiniushiyue with the heavy wrestling ability. Nobody knows what his ground game looks like but him just avoiding at all costs may be a sign.
I feel good about Jiniushiyue because he’s better in his primary area than Choi is.
