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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Korean Zombie is still adjusting to life outside of the cage.

In August, Zombie — real name Chan Sung Jung — officially retired from MMA following his knockout loss to Max Holloway in the main event of UFC Singapore. Still only 36 years old and one of the top featherweights in the world, Zombie could continue fighting, but Zombie says given how the fight went, he knew it was time to walk away.

“The funny thing about this fight is I remember every single second of the fight,” Zombie said recently on The MMA Hour. “From the moment I got dropped, every single punch I threw, every single punch that hit me. In the second round when I got dropped, I saw the punch coming, I thought I dodged it, but I was dropped. I was like, ‘What hit me?’ In the first round I was wobbled a little bit and in the third round everybody saw I got knocked down.

“After experiencing these moments, I felt that I don’t have that chin anymore. I’ve been having brain damage over the years, so I don’t have that chin anymore. I’m not going to say any names but there are fighter who, when they were young, used to have a really good chin, but then as they get older they get brain damage, their chin gets weaker, and they get frequently dropped. If the fighter fails to acknowledge the fact that they got old and their chin got weaker, the end isn’t as lovely. I didn’t want to become that fighter, so I decided to retire at that moment.”

Despite never becoming champion, Zombie is one of the most beloved fighters in MMA history. Known for his exciting, action-packed style and his the durability which earned him the name “Zombie,” Jung left the UFC how he entered the promotion: chaotic and violent. After nearly getting finished in the second round, Zombie came out for the third round against Holloway and started brawling that he says was done as an throwback to his first fight under the Zuffa banner, his war with Leonard Garcia in 2010.

“I definitely wanted to show the crowd the classic Zombie,” Jung said. “If the fans watched my first fight in the WEC, that’s how I fought originally. I kind of wanted to put on a show for the fans and go back to the old version of me and put on a show. I kind of went out the way I came in this organization. I’m happy the fight went as it did.”

Had Zombie won the fight, he said he would have tried to have the UFC return to South Korea for a rematch with Brian Ortega or Yair Rodriguez. Instead, he was left looking back on a career he says he’s extremely grateful for.

“Before I put the gloves down, I didn’t really feel anything, but after I put the gloves down on the canvas and bowed down right besides the gloves, it was an emotion that I’ve never felt before,” Zombie said. “Being at the end of a chapter in your life is something that’s very unexplainable. At the same time, I felt gratitude towards the UFC and the UFC gloves because it gave me one heck of a life, so that’s what I was feeling.”

And while the end may not have been exactly what Zombie wanted, it wasn’t all bad. While he exited the cage for the final time, fans in the Singapore Indoor Stadium sang his walkout song, “Zombie” by The Cranberries, in tribute to him, resulting in on of the most touching retirement scenes in MMA history. That, and everything about the fight other than the outcome, make it Zombie’s personal favorite moment in his career.

“The Max Holloway fight, because everything was perfect, the timing, my opponent being Max Holloway, the audience, the crowd, the love that they showed me,” Zombie said. “I’ve had my share of fights in life but this fight is the only fight that I have zero regret after the fight is finished, even though I lost via knockout. This is the only fight that I have completely zero regrets, so I would choose my last fight as the most memorable one.”

As for what’s next for Zombie, he’s already a successful YouTuber, and said he has plans to stay connected to MMA moving forward, perhaps with a show looking to find and develop emerging Asian MMA talent. And while the MMA door might have closed, Zombie says it’s possible he might not be fully done with combat sports.

“My heart an every part of my body says I could totally go and fight again, but I think it’s time for me to acknowledge that as far as MMA goes, I’ll probably not be able to fight again,” Zombie said. “I think it’s time for me to acknowledge that.

“If I get the opportunity, maybe boxing? A lot of MMA fighters try out boxing so why not me? Boxing would be fun for me.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Same level as Hitler
| BJPenn.com

After unifying the bantamweight titles, Naoya Inoue has done it again, unifying the super featherweight belts with a rousing win over Marlon Tapales in Tokyo, Japan.

Naoya Inoue has done it again, knocking out Marlon Tapales in the 10th round to become the undisputed champion of the 122 pound division. Tapales held the WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles, while Inoue came into the bout with the WBA and IBF titles. Inoue is now the undisputer junior featherweight and bantamweight champ.

Inoue dropped Tapales in the fourth round and again in the tenth, The end came off a partially blocked right hand that put Tapales to one knee, where he was counted out at 1:02. It was a game performance from the Filipino fighter, but Inoue was just too much for him.

Compubox had Inoue outstriking Tapales 146-52 overall, and 114-43 in power punches. Tapales had just a 17% connect percentage in comparison. Beyond the numbers, though, Taplaes came back from being knocked down in the fourth to bring the fight to Inoue. It was a hell of a war between these two and quite the Christmas present for combat sports fans.

Take a look at the finish and the highlights below:

So what’s next for Naoya Inoue? After the fight he confirmed that his plan was to defend his super bantamweight world titles. The most likely candidate for that would be WBC mandatory challenger Luis Nery … if Nery can get licensed in Japan after past drug and weight issues.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Amid calls from the mixed martial arts fanbase for a bantamweight rematch between former champions, Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz at UFC 300 in April of next year, the former has claimed a potential re-do with the latter simply does not interest him at the moment.

Garbrandt, a former undisputed bantamweight champion, made his return to the Octagon at UFC 296 earlier this month, extending his winning streak to two fights for the first time since 2016, landing a first round KO win over Brian Kelleher.

As for Cruz, the San Diego favorite has yet to make his return to the Octagon since he saw his impressive two-fight winning run halted by incoming UFC 299 headliner and title challenger, Marlon Vera – courtesy of a hellacious high-kick knockout at UFC San Diego back in August of last year. 

Sharing the Octagon at UFC 206 back in 2016, the then-unbeaten, Garbrandt turned in a remarkable performance against two-time gold holder, Cruz, landing a dominant unanimous decision win over the veteran in a massive upset victory in the pair’s co-main event slot.

Cody Garbrandt dismisses Dominick Cruz rematch

And despite calling for a rescheduled pairing with former flyweight gold holder, Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 next year, Garbrandt has been urged to rematch Cruz at the monumental event, however, insists he has no interest in a re-run.

“Honestly, that fight [with Dominick Cruz] doesn’t interest me,” Cody Garbrandt told ESPN. “What else am I supposed to do with the guy? I mean, go in and knock him out this time? That’s the onle thing that would go put a statement or top that. It’s so hard to top that performance.”

“At the end of the day, Deiveson Figueiredo coming to the bantamweight division and having a win over Rob Font, I go knock Deiveson out, and it puts me right back in title contention,” Cody Garbrandt explained. “That’s what I’m here to do. I don’t want to be a runnerup in this sport. I always wnat to be at the top. I think that fight stylistically and everything it mounts to put me back in the top.” 

Would you like to see Cody Garbrandt fight Dominick Cruz at UFC 300?

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

“I’ll fight you”
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Aljamain Sterling was pressured to fight Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

The former Bantamweight champion had just defended his title in a competitive five-round scrap with Henry Cejudo in May, and just days later, UFC was pressuring Sterling to accept a bout against O’Malley in August. That’s an unusually quick turnaround at the championship level, but it’s a gamble that Sterling ultimately agreed to take.

The reason behind that decision was at least partially financial. “Suga” has been marketed as an up-and-coming star, a potential Conor McGregor. Yet according to “The Funkmaster,” O’Malley’s popularity didn’t translate to pay-per-view (PPV) buys, which Sterling received a percentage of as champion.

Consequently, he’s left unimpressed by supposed Sean O’Malley’s drawing power.

“I got the pay-per-view numbers, and me and her were going through it, and I’m just like, ‘These are the numbers that this guy was trying to say he’s this big pay-per-view star?’ When I saw the numbers, I literally said to her, ‘If I had any idea this is what the numbers would have been, if I could have predicted that this is what it would have been, my ass would have waited and taken my vacation then.’”

He concluded, “I rolled the dice. I trusted that the bag was going to be this blow-me-away kind of thing, bigger than all the other ones — it wasn’t. With that being said, it is what it is. I’m still happy I made some extra money. I had a really good year. I can’t complain about that, life’s good. I can take care of myself, my family.”

Both athletes have moved on since that bout. Sterling has jumped up to Featherweight and will make his 145-pound debut against Calvin Kattar on April 13 at UFC 300, whereas O’Malley is set to defend his Bantamweight belt on March 9 at UFC 299 opposite his longtime rival, Marlon Vera.

We’ll have to keep an eye on the UFC 299 pay-per-view buy numbers to see if the “Suga” hype is all smoke-and-mirrors.

Insomnia

Paulo Costa and Belal Muhammad are in the Christmas spirit.

How can you be mad at Tai Tuivasa? “Bam Bam” is hilarious.

This is actually useful info for the bettors amongst us. When I predict fights featuring debuting talent, I do take into consideration what local scene they came up through and how stacked with talent it is.

Mohammed Mokaev with a decent Dominick Cruz impression!

I am still very uncertain where Tresean Gore’s ceiling stands, so hopefully this fight helps answer that question.

Bryce Mitchell has officially rebounded from the year’s worst knockout.

Islam Makhachev remains unimpressed with the IV conspiracy comments.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

We’re now a couple days off from the actual anniversary, but these are some brutal exchanges all the same.

Personally, I would have tapped way earlier. Solid flexibility on display in defeat!

Old school jiu-jitsu footage!

Random Land

I saw this online a week or two ago, and I instantly knew that I had found my Christmas Random Land and Midnight Music. Enjoy!

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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