10 Things I Like at UFC Vegas 29
Coming on the heels of an outstanding pay-per-view, this weekend's fight card offers plenty to watch, especially if you fancy yourself a hardcore fan
The Korean Zombie at a Crossroads
Last time out, Chan Sung Jung looked… slow doesn’t seem like the right word, nor does mortal, but he didn’t look like himself either.
Last October, Jung got picked apart at range by Brian Ortega in a fight that felt like both an ascendent moment for Ortega and a turn towards the back half of his career for the popular South Korean featherweight. He didn't have the same aggression and relentlessness we’ve come to love, and while you have to give Ortega credit for his efforts, it also struck me as one of those bouts where you finally see the years of hard battles catching up to a competitor.
Now, that might sound strange given that he’d won his two previous fights by first-round stoppage, but as Richard Mann points out this week in his Fight Forecast newsletter, Jung hasn’t won a fight that went beyond the first round since 2012 when he beat Dustin Poirier. He also struggles against opponents that land at a good clip and throw volume, which his dance partner on Saturday, Dan Ige, does.
This is a potential “Changing of the Guard” fight, but it also could be a “There are Levels to This” pairing as well, which is a big part of what makes it so compelling. Jung was clearly frustrated/disappointed/saddened by his effort against Ortega, so a return to his marauder ways and the win column isn’t out of the question; it probably isn’t even unlikely.
But there is the possibility that after being involved in a bunch of wars early in his career and a couple more slobberknockers and a one-sided beatdown last time out, the 34-year-old “Korean Zombie” is slowing down and losing his grip on being a Top 5 featherweight.
Another Big Opportunity for Dan Ige
There are one of two ways that Saturday’s main event is going to go: either Jung is going to show he’s still a Top 5 talent and Ige isn’t quite on that level yet, or Ige is going to walk away with the biggest victory of his career and catapult himself into the thick of the chase in the featherweight ranks.
You see this a couple times a year in different divisions — emerging talents stepping in against a tenured veteran or a second or third time, where you’re going in wondering, “Is this the moment when they take the next step or are they still not quite ready?'“
Ige already faced it last summer in his matchup with Calvin Kattar, who in turn faced it in his bouts with Zabit Magomedsharipov and Max Holloway, and now Ige is facing it again here on Saturday.
The Xtreme Couture product looked outstanding last time out again Gavin Tucker, when he put down the Newfoundland native with a clean right hand down the pipe just 22 seconds in, and it will be interesting to see if he can carry that momentum over into this weekend’s pairing with Jung.
Ageless Oleinik
I’m not going to lie: I take great pleasure in seeing a man is about a year-and-a-half older than me amble into the Octagon a choke fools out.
Saturday night Aleksei Oleinik fights for the 76th time in his professional career, making a third attempt to garner win No. 60 as he takes on Serghei Spivac. Over the last couple years, I’ve done several different feature interviews with Oleinik, but ahead of this one, we dipped into the past a little more since after everyone got all jazzed up about Kevin Holland fighting five times in one year last year, I thought chopping it up about the 13-month stretch where he fought 21 times would be kind of fun:
What’s cool about Oleinik (at least to me) is that through it all, he has always been completely aware of his place in the pecking order and where he stands in the overall heavyweight hierarchy, and seems perfectly fine with it. He’s not out here talking about deserving more respect or anything like that — he just rolls with the punches, moves on to the next assignment, and keeps training; the same things he’s been doing for the last quarter century.
I don’t know how this weekend’s fight will play out (though I will share some ideas tomorrow) or how much longer Oleinik will continue competing on the biggest stage in the sport, but as long as he does, I will continue watching, even if just to live vicariously through a fellow old dude trying to survive in a world filled with young whippersnappers trying to take his spot.
Vera-Grant II: Electric Boogaloo
A lot has happened in the five years since Marlon Vera and Davey Grant first shared the Octagon on what I’m sure was a dreary Saturday afternoon in London.
Vera found consistency and began to grow into the fight many envisioned he could become, posting a number of solid wins while maturing into a Top 15 talent in the bantamweight division. Grant battled injuries and inconsistency, going long stretches between fights on multiple occasions before stringing together three appearances — and three wins — in 16 months to arrive at this rematch on Saturday.
While Vera has become the more established name, he’s also the less polished of the two; the one with more room to grow and, theoretically, great upside in the talent-rich division, which makes this a bigger fight for him.
That’s not to take anything away from Grant, who has earned consecutive stoppage wins and Performance of the Night bonuses, however, he’s 35 years old and has a rich injury history, so the odds of him putting together another two or three continued years of health and success into his late 30s are low. Instead, he’s more likely to be the guy that dashes the dreams of guys like Vera — guys that are close, but not quite there, who are also tired of being not quite there and perhaps pushing a little too much, too hard.
Vera has always struck me as one of those athletes the media wants to see succeed because he has a great story with tragic underpinnings, is infinitely likeable, and has an exciting style. I get it, but I’m more of a cold bastard when it comes to this stuff and I just see an athlete that still hasn’t quite figured things out and might not ever fully get there, as he had a win over Jose Aldo fully in his grasp heading into the third round of their fight in December and threw it away with poor decision-making.
That setback set Vera back a couple spots in the ultra-competitive bantamweight division and it’s going to take more than a good win over a streaking veteran like Grant to get him back on track, if he’s able to beat Grant, which is a reasonable-sized if at this point.
Either way, I’m here for it and I think it will be a tremendously entertaining scrap in the middle of this weekend’s main card.
Fighter I Can’t Quit: Julian Erosa
I can’t quit Julian Erosa because Julian Erosa refuses to quit on Julian Erosa.
Here’s a dude that had every reason to just stop pushing after getting cut from the UFC, not getting another contract despite scoring a second-round knockout win over Jamall Emmers on the Contender Series, and then getting cut again following three straight losses inside the Octagon. Instead, he kept pressing, kept winning fights on the regional circuit, kept getting incrementally better, and now, he heads into this weekend’s fight card with back-to-back stoppage wins and a completely new lease on life in the UFC.
Erosa has always fought with a “kill or be killed” approach and while it didn’t pay many dividends during his first two stints on the roster, he really is the kind of guy you want to see a couple of in every division — those fighters that are tough outs and battle-tested, capable of pushing emerging prospects to their limits and forcing veterans to be sharp if they want to get back into the win column.
Even if you’re not a fan, you have to give Erosa his props for persevering and getting back to this spot.
I Want to Know More About… SeungWoo Choi
SeungWoo Choi is one of those fighters that got thrown into the deep end of the talent pool right off the bat, only to find out he wasn’t a very strong swimmer.
In his first two appearances, “Sting” lost to Movsar Evloev and Gavin Tucker — the former a still-unbeaten rising star in the featherweight division, and the latter a talented, gritty martial artist with more savvy and experience than his record otherwise suggests. Since then, however, the 28-year-old has recorded consecutive unanimous decision wins over Suman Mokhtarian and Youssef Zalal to bring his UFC record level and land a spot as an “I Want to Know More About” athlete heading into his clash with Erosa on Saturday.
His striking is crisp, he’s gaining valuable experience and cage time, and he profiles (to me) as someone that could blossom into a Jimmy Rivera, Brad Tavares type who hovers in the lower third of the rankings and is a perennially entertaining fighter, while still carrying the potential to climb a little higher if things line up and shake out right.
Grapplefest: Virna Jandiroba vs. Kanako Murata
If you’re not a grappling fan, this is probably where you’re going to want to grab your re-fills, hit the bathroom, check in with your significant other or social media because there is a very real possibility that the clash between Virna Jandiroba and Kanako Murata is going to be contested entirely on the ground.
Now, I think you should watch it regardless of your predispositions because it’s going to be awesome and carries significance in the strawweight division, but I also understand that some people aren’t big grappling fans, so I’m offering a preemptive acknowledgement that this might not be for them.
Both women are former Invicta FC titleholders and soon to be fixtures in the Top 15 in the 115-pound weight class; Jandiroba is already ranked, Murata should be. The Brazilian is 16-2 overall with her losses coming against Carla Esparza and Mackenzie Dern, while the Japanese wrestler is 12-1, having only lost to Rin Nakai several years ago. Last time out, she won her UFC debut over divisional stalwart Randa Markos.
This is one of those “under the radar” fights that people are going to look back on in a year or two and realize it carried great significance, and I just really hope everyone takes the time to read this, process this, and enjoy this fight on Saturday because it should be really fun, except if you’re one of those people who are dead inside and simply cannot abide by watching people grapple.
Great Story Alert: Matthew Semelsberger
Matthew Semelsberger is an intriguing welterweight that makes his third UFC appearance this weekend in what should be an absolute banger with the aptly named Khaos Williams. He’s coming off a 16-second knockout win in his sophomore showing, and has won five straight overall.
I had the pleasure of speaking with “Semi” ahead of this fight and I have to say, his story is one of my favorites, just because it allowed me to close out the piece with this:
Not bad for someone that lost his amateur debut and spent his final three years in college with everyone thinking he was that guy that says he “trains UFC” but can’t fight worth a lick.
I really thought long and hard about typing “tranes UFC,” but went with the more conventional spelling because it still works.
Dude’s journey is a unique one and I’m genuinely curious to see what he does for an encore on Saturday after blasting through Witt. This is a tough matchup, but it’s a high risk, high reward situation for the Maryland native, and if he passes this test, I’m looking forward to more people getting to hear his story before the next one.
Remember Rick Glenn?
If you’re a diehard, chances are you remember Rick Glenn — former WSOF featherweight champ, beat the daylights out of Gavin Tucker in Edmonton a couple years back (which landed me on CBC Radio); super-intriguing talent that never quite seemed to put it all together for an extended stretch before disappearing into the ether.
Well, he’s back this weekend, and he’s officially going by Ricky now, which is one of the few times in recorded history that someone has switched to the more child-like version of their name in adulthood. He takes on Joaquim Silva in a lightweight contest that has high violence potential, but really, I’m just really curious to see what he looks like after more than two years away.
Somehow, Glenn is still only 32, so he has time to return to being a dangerous, entertaining addition to the middle of the lightweight pack, and how things play out on Saturday could provide some clarity as to whether or not that is going to happen.
Casey O’Neill Returns
Because I put these 10 Things in order of the fight card, this one is far lower than it would be if I ranked them according to my overall level of excitement, but either way, it’s “King” Casey O’Neill fight week and I’m all the way here for it.
I wasn’t convinced of O’Neill’s talents heading into her promotional debut, but I’m man enough to admit when I was wrong… and I was wrong. The globe-travelling flyweight wrecked Shana Dobson and looks for a second straight UFC stoppage victory on Saturday against Lara Procopio, and if she’s successful, there are going to be a lot more people looking for seats on the bandwagon on Sunday morning.
Here’s what I know and why I like O’Neill so much now, which is probably why the people that are even smarter than me liked her before me: she’s 23, 6-0 now as a pro, and moved to Vegas last year when getting back to Thailand wasn’t an option, landing at Xtreme Couture, where she’s built on the foundation laid at Tiger Muay Thai.
All of those things add up to a bundle of intrigue for me, and this fight with Procopio, who its 7-1 overall, is the kind of step up she needs to pass in order to advance to the next stage of her development and solidify her standing as one of the top prospects on the female side of the sport.
I was late to the party, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.
This is a Casey O’Neill fan site from here on out.