The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 165: Edgar vs Korean Zombie

The UFC’s final show of 2019 – Fight Night 165 from Busan, South Korea – was a pretty enjoyable card to watch in the end. Not the most star-studded event, we at least got a bunch of fun finishes and outside of a short period at the start of the main card, nothing really felt like it dragged. The UFC’s next effort will get much more publicity – it involves Conor McGregor, for starters – but this was a solid way to end the year.

Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 165: Edgar vs Korean Zombie.

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#1 Best: The Korean Zombie picks up the biggest win of his career

Chan Sung Jung

Almost certainly one of the most exciting men to watch on the UFC’s roster, Chan Sung Jung has unfortunately struggled to gain traction since his failed 2013 Featherweight title shot, largely due to injuries and layoffs. Well, that may have changed today as he picked up the best win of his career over former Lightweight champ Frankie Edgar.

Sure, Edgar is past his prime now and his once-legendary chin is likely cracked for good, but it was still impressive to see ‘The Korean Zombie’ absolutely destroy him with pinpoint-accurate punches, sending him crashing to the ground twice within three minutes to pick up a first round TKO. Edgar looked overmatched from the start, and while he’s lost plenty of fights over the years, it was still rare to see him dismantled like this.

Where now for the Zombie? 2019’s seen him pick up two huge wins – he beat Renato Moicano in June – but with the UFC apparently planning a rematch between new champ Alexander Volkanovski and the dethroned Max Holloway, things might be a little tight at the top. But wow, a fight against Zabit Magomedsharipov to decide the next title challenger sounds like hot fire to us.

#1 Worst: Light-Heavyweight loses a potential contender

Aleksandar Rakic came up short against Volkan Oezdemir today

Coming into his fight in Busan with Volkan Oezdemir, a lot of fans were talking up Aleksandar Rakic as a potential title challenger in 2020. Following today’s split decision loss to ‘No Time’, that no longer looks likely, which is pretty sad given the generally thin state of the Light-Heavyweight division.

Sure, the fight was close enough to the point where Rakic could’ve won – in fact, a number of online outlets scored it for the Austrian prospect – but he took a lot of punishment, particularly to his lead leg, and certainly didn’t look like a fighter capable of dethroning Jon Jones. To be fair, neither did Dominick Reyes – the next title challenger – when he fought Oezdemir, but at least the winner was clear in that fight.

Rakic will undoubtedly bounce back; at 27 he’s still young for a Light-Heavyweight, but this was a bad setback for him and a bad result for the UFC, too, as Oezdemir’s ceiling is well-known at this point while Rakic could’ve been pushed as a potential star with a win.

#2 Best: Light-Heavyweight gains a potential contender

Da Un Jung impressed in his win over Mike Rodriguez

While prospect Aleksandar Rakic lost in today’s co-main event, the Light-Heavyweight division did at least see another prospect gain some traction, as Korea’s Da Un Jung impressed with a violent knockout of Mike Rodriguez in a main card showcase.

Jung – who submitted Khadis Ibragimov in his UFC debut back in August – has always carried a reputation as a hard hitter, as 9 of his 12 wins prior to his UFC debut had come by KO or TKO, and this showing was more evidence of that, as before today, Rodriguez had never been knocked out in 14 professional fights.

Nobody is going to confuse the Korean fighter for a genuine title contender just yet – it’s too early in his UFC career for that and he hasn’t fought a high-level opponent yet – but he’s definitely a man to watch going into 2020, and given the thin nature of the 205lbs division, one more win could well put him into the proverbial mix.

#2 Worst: Doo Ho Choi flatters to deceive again

Doo Ho Choi flattered to deceive in his loss to Charles Jourdain

‘The Korean Superboy’ Choi Doo Ho has long been considered a top prospect to watch at 145lbs, but his losses to Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens were enough to put a halt to any talk of him being a potential title contender. Today’s loss to the unheralded Charles Jourdain, however, might be the tipping point for him.

Choi is a tremendously fun fighter to watch and today’s fight was arguably one of the best of 2019 – but while he still carries big knockout power, he just doesn’t seem to have developed well from a technical standpoint. He still holds his chin too highly, he still doesn’t really use a jab, and today that caught up with him as he was violently knocked out.

Jourdain appears to be a solid prospect and could go onto big success in the UFC, but it was still disappointing to see Choi go down in this manner – and he might not be the same again.

#3 Best: Ciryl Gane is for real

Ciryl Gane impressed in his win over Tanner Boser

Heavyweight is a division that hasn’t exactly been packed-full of talent to watch in the last few years, but in France’s Ciryl Gane, the UFC might’ve found a true gem. A training partner of current top contender Francis Ngannou, Gane defeated Tanner Boser today, comfortably picking him apart with his striking en route to a three-round decision.

Gane came into the UFC with a big reputation as a striker, but surprised everyone by submitting his first two foes, Raphael Pessoa and Don’Tale Mayes. Today, however, he showed off those vaunted striking skills and looked excellent. He didn’t knock Boser out, but he showed patience, poise and technical ability to ease to a win.

After three wins in the Octagon it’s now time for Gane to have a step up in competition – his last three victims were all lower-level opponents – and we wouldn’t mind seeing him face off with Aleksei Oleinik or Marcin Tybura, to name two of the better fighters in the division. Either way, he’s a man to watch in 2020.