Greenville played host to UFC Fight Night 154, which saw ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung take on Renato Moicano in a featherweight bout set to reignite the title hopes of the victor. Both suffered crucial setbacks in their last bouts. The Korean Zombie was knocked out in the most dramatic fashion with an upward elbow from Yair Rodriguez with just seconds to go in a bout he looked poised to win. While Moicano was stopped early in the second round against long time champion and contender Jose Aldo. Both looked to rebound and make a statement that they are still relevant in the featherweight title picture. On what can only be described as a thin card, there was consistently good fights on display, with plentiful knockouts and wild exchanges along the way. Here are the big numbers to take away from the night.

Statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com http://ufcstats.com/event-details/b16a7e6a627e9789

7682: Attendance

11: Number of fights

4: KO/TKO finishes

7: Unanimous Decisions

1: Never known to be in a boring fight, The Korean Zombie dispatched of Moicano to become the first featherweight in UFC history to secure two knockouts in under a minute. Many will recall his almost unbelievable 7-Second Knock-out of Mark Hominick at UFC 140, the second fastest in UFC history. With this victory he does not only add another impressive name to his list of fallen foes, but also a notable stat to his legacy.  A win over a high calibre fighter like Moicano is impressive, but to get it done in just 58 seconds will surely propel this national hero into a high profile bout on his next outing.

+160: The odds makers’ assessment of Chan sung Jung’s chances of victory on Saturday. A significant underdog  in this bout, The Korean Zombie stunned the MMA world as he has done so many times before with an impressive knockout of the heavily favoured Moicano (-200). Before suffering a defeat to Aldo, Moicano was on a tear in the UFC, defeating veterans such as Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens making Jung’s win all the more impressive.

9: The amount of seconds it took Jairzihno ‘BigiBoy’ Rozenstruik to put away Allen Crowder. The bout saw undefeated Jairzihno Rozenstruik pick up his second UFC win with an emphatic and memorable knockout, extending his unbeaten run to 8-0. BigiBoy quickly dispatched of Allen crowder, the man who handed Greg Hardy his first loss in his UFC Debut (albeit by disqualification). A knockout like this will always prick the ears of many pundits and Journalists in the MMA game, and makes Rozenstrik a one to watch in the future of the heavyweight division.

1673: The number of days since Matt Wimann stepped foot in the Octagon. A long time veteran of the sport, Matt Wimann returned to take on the eccentric prospect Luis Pena this weekend, to the surprise of many MMA experts. A UFC veteran who appeared on shows back as far as UFC 60 (2006), many remember him for his devastating flying knee knockout loss to Spencer Fisher. A mainstay of the lightweight division for many years, his jumped down to featherweight upon his return was not the coming home party he desired. Luis Pena stopped the veteran in the third round via TKO. With 87 significant strikes (opposed to Wimann’s 24) and 7 guard passes the man known as ‘violent Bob ross’ painted a clear picture in this fight – ‘out with the old and in with the new’.

 

5: The number of fighters put on my watch list after the event.

1- Luis Pena- A unique character, Pena has racked up two in a row following a narrow decision defeat to Mike Trizano at UFC Fight night 139. With the likes of Bob Cook and Rosendo Sanchez in his corner we’re sure to see marked improvements in his game over the coming years.

2- Dan Ige – Any fighter who accumulates four wins in a row in the UFC is worth keeping a close eye on. Ige now holds the 5th longest active winning streak in the featherweight division and will be interesting to see how long he can keep steam rolling the competition.

3- Chan Sung Jung – The Korean zombie has looked phenomenal since returning from his knee injury that shelved him for over a year. A narrow defeat and an impressive win against two of the best the division has to offer shows he hasn’t missed a step. Expect more exciting fights in the future from this veteran.

4- Randy Brown – A boisterous trash talker, randy brown’s blend of competitive spirit and in your face personality make him an entertaining fighter to follow. At just 28 and a wealth of UFC experience behind, he may be entering the peak of his career and could make for interesting viewing to see this man with more air time.

5- Matt Wimann – After such a long layoff and a comprehensive defeat on this card, it will be interesting to see if this journeyman sticks around to compete for much longer. As we have seen with fighters such as Chuck Liddell and recently BJ Penn, many of the UFC’s returning alumni suffer tragic ends if they chose to extend the twilight of their careers.

By Michael O’Connor