Aleksandar Rakic reacts to his split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir at UFC on ESPN+ 23.
[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] thinks he got robbed.
Rakic (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was narrowly defeated by [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) this past weekend in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 23, suffering his first loss in the UFC.
Known for fast starts, Rakic came out aggressively and landed solid shots, testing Oezdemir’s chin early. But perfectly executed leg kicks by Oezdemir paid dividends in the latter rounds, as he was able to slow down Rakic’s offense, causing a massive welt on his leg.
Both fighters continued to trade throughout the fight, but after the scorecards were rendered, Oezdemir was awarded the split decision win after three hard-fought rounds.
It was Rakic’s first loss in over eight years, a fight he’s confident he won. He took to Instagram to share his thoughts.
That is the feeling what i have right NOW!!
He won on the papers but we all know who the REAL winner is.
No Excuses i will work my ass off to show my fans what I am capable of. 🚀🚀🚀
After a 4-0 start in the UFC and back-to-back finishes, Rakic was emerging as one of the top light heavyweight contenders. The loss to Oezdemir is a hard pill to swallow for the 27-year-old Austrian, who saw a momentary halt to his momentum.
All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 23, which saw Chan Sung Jung beat Frankie Edgar.
The UFC’s final event of the year – and the decade – took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 23, which went down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea, with a main card that streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN.
In the main event, [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) proved himself one of the top contenders in the featherweight division when he took out former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) with a methodical first-round TKO.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 23.
* * * *
General
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $121,000.
Betting favorites fell to 22-18 (one fight had even odds, one ended in a no contest) in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:21:54.
Main card
Chan Sung Jung
Jung improved to 3-1 since he returned from a more than three-year layoff from competition in February 2017.
Jung has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes all six of his UFC wins.
Jung’s six stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (10) and Ricardo Lamas (eight).
Jung’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are the most in divisional history.
Jung is the only fighter in UFC history to earn eight total bonuses in his first eight octagon appearances.
Edgar fell to 8-5 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in February 2013.
Edgar has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Volkan Oezdemir
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has earned two of his five UFC victories by split decision.
[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since his MMA debut in October 2011.
Rakic suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Jourdain (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all 10 of his career victories by stoppage.
Choi’s (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2016.
Choi has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to 12 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since October 2015.
Jung has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2018.
Rodriguez suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Kyung Ho Kang
[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) improved to 4-1 since he returned to competition from a nearly 3.5-year layoff in January 2018.
[autotag]Marc Andre Barriault[/autotag]’s (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2018.
Barriault has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
Preliminary card
Ciryl Gane
[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]’s (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind behind Jairzinho Rozenstruik (four).
Gane earned the first decision victory of his career.
[autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.
[autotag]Suman Mokhtarian[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 8-0.
Mokhtarian suffered the first decision loss of his career.
[autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag]’s (16-11-3 MMA, 3-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.
Ma fell to 3-4 since he dropped to the UFC lightweight division in June 2016.
Ma suffered his first decision loss since Aug. 27, 2010 – a span of 3,403 days (more than nine years) and 16 fights.
[autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.
Schnell has suffered all three of his UFC losses by knockout.
Raoni Barcelos
[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]’ (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak in bantamweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Petr Yan (six) and Marlon Vera (five).
[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since June 2014.
Nurmagomedov has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (7-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all seven of her career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had her seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of her career.
[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag] (14-7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past 10 fights.
Benoit was unsuccessful in his UFC bantamweight debut.
Benoit has suffered four of his six career losses by decision.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC on ESPN+ 23 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
BUSAN – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $121,000.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC on ESPN+ 23 took place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The entire card streamed ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN+ 23 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2019 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
“UFC on ESPN+ 23: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie” – $121,000
Volkan Oezdemir’s brutal leg kicks cause a massive welt on Aleksandar Rakic’s leg.
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]’s leg kicks did some serious damage to [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag]’s leg.
The two squared off in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea, in a back-and-forth scrap. But it was Oezdemir’s brutal leg kicks that made the difference, slowing Rakic’s movement and causing a massive welt on his left leg.
A welt so big that it look like Rakic had another knee.
Kudos to Rakic for fighting through that, but it was Oezdemir who got the nod via split decision, notching his second straight win.
And having recently been on the wrong end of a split decision to current UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes, Oezdemir wants that back.
In no time.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Volkan Oezdemir got the nod on the scorecards after a back-and-forth battle with Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea.
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] and [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] headed into South Korea with well-earned reputations as knockout artists, but their clash at UFC on ESPN+ 23 showed they both have chins to match, as they battled all the way to the scorecards in Busan.
The two light heavyweight finishers went toe-to-toe through three full rounds at Sajik Arena in the night’s co-main event, which streamed live on ESPN+. And a hotly-contested 15 minutes, it was Oezdemir (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) who got the nod via split decision.
The bout started in explosive fashion, as Rakic (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) came flying out of his corner and connected with two solid punches, then a flying knee, as he backed Oezdemir against the fence. The Austrian then looked to surprise the Swiss fighter with a guillotine choke, but Oezdemir recovered well before the action returned to the center of the octagon.
Rakic continued to boss things from the outside, mixing up punches and low leg kicks as Oezdemir looked to step in and use his powerful short-range punches, and one snapping right hand in particular from “No Time” put Rakic on alert.
[lawrence-related id=473393,473332]
And, just as Oezdemir appeared to be finding a foothold in the contest, Rakic mixed things up and took his man to the canvas with a single-leg, then looked to work him over with power punches against the fence after they returned to the feet. The threat of the knockout was ever-present as the pair threw with full power, but Rakic looked the slicker striker from range, as he connected with a clean two-punch combination before sliding away from a right-hand counter from Oezdemir in the final moments of an action-packed opening round.
But if Rakic had the better of things in the opening round, Oezdemir came back into the contest in Round 2, as he turned to his leg kicks and had immediate success. His first serious kick of the second stanza connected powerfully, leaving the Austrian with a large, nasty-looking swelling just below the left knee, which continued to grow in size as the round progressed. Oezdemir returned to that target repeatedly throughout the round as the pace of the bout slowed and the Swiss began to edge the striking exchanges.
Perhaps knowing the fight was in the balance, Rakic came out swinging at the start of Round 3 and connected with a big hook, which Oezedemir took well. The Swiss fighter then returned fire with shots of his own as the pair continued to battle back and forth. Both men landed solid left hooks as they chased a late finish. Oezdemir clipped his man with a head-kick, while Rakic continued to land jabs from range, while mixing in takedown attempts that ultimately proved unsuccessful as the two noted knockout artists battled all the way to the scorecards.
The fight was almost too close to call, and left the three octagonside judges split on the overall winner. When the scores were read, it was Oezdemir whose hand was raised with scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28 going his way after a tight, competitive matchup.
“I’ve been on the wrong side of a decision already, on my last fight with Dominick Reyes,” said Oezdemir after the fight. “Now I’m going to let Reyes do his thing. And when Dominick Reyes comes back, I’ll be ready for him.”
Oezdemir then went on to call for a matchup with fellow light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, who submitted him back at UFC Fight Night 138 in Moncton in October 2018.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 23 results include:
Volkan Oezdemir def. Aleksandar Rakic via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Charles Jourdain def. Dooho Choi via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:32
Da Un Jung def. Mike Rodriguez via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:04
Jun Yong Park def. Marc-Andre Barriault via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Kyung Ho Kang def. Liu Pingyuan via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
In the main event, former lightweight champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) is putting off his planned move to bantamweight to stay at featherweight to take on [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on short notice. “The Korean Zombie” is nearly a 2-1 favorite in front of his home fans against Edgar. Our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Jung at a sizable 10-3 clip.
In the co-main event, former light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) meets [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who is about a -150 favorite. He’s also the favorite of the majority of our staff pickers at 9-4.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who is from Busan, gets a home fight at featherweight against [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). He’s more than a 3-1 favorite, and only one of our pickers is going against him.
[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is a slight underdog in front of his home fans against [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout. It’s our most contentious fight on the card – Jung has a 7-6 edge in the picks.
The only unanimous pick in Busan goes to [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Despite not having a UFC win yet, all 13 of our pickers are taking him to beat South Korea’s own [autotag]Jun Yong Park[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Barriault is a slight betting favorite.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has a 12-1 blowout lead in the picks in his bantamweight fight against [autotag]Liu Pingyuan[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, C. Jung (64%), Rakic (91 percent), Choi (89 percent), D. Jung (65 percent), Barriault (57 percent) and Kang (76 percent) are the choices.
We want your predictions for UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea.
We want your predictions for this week’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event in South Korea.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN+ 23 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN+ 23 takes place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The card streams on ESPN+.
Make your picks for all six main card fights inside.
Volkan Oezdemir doesn’t see his fight with Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Busan going past two rounds.
If there’s anyone who can match [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]’s “No Time” mentality, it’s his UFC Busan opponent, [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag].
Oezdemir (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) faces Rakic (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on Dec. 21 in a battle between two fast-paced light heavyweights who share a combined 20 first-round finishes between them.
“It’s definitely going to be an explosive fight,” Oezdemir told MMA Junkie. “Rakic is there. He’s putting a lot of pressure, a lot of intensity. In his fights, he completely outstrikes his opponents, puts a lot of pressure, like always going forward, and he loves to strike. I think he will try to be more subtle, and I will definitely put more pressure into the game. This is how I see the fight going.”
Naturally, Oezdemir doesn’t see the fight lasting too long, especially with the way both of them approach their fights.
[lawrence-related id=466324]
“I’m definitely ready to go full power since the first minute, because this guy also doesn’t back up – so it’s definitely going to be an explosive fight and I don’t see the fight going past two rounds,” Oezdemir said.
Oezdemir was able to snap a three-fight losing skid with a much needed finish over Ilir Latifi in August in one of his most refined performances yet.
Rakic, on the other hand, is off to a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure and is coming off back-to-back first-round finishes over Devin Clark and a head kick “Knockout of the Year” contender over Jimi Manuwa.
But Oezdemir, a former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, doesn’t think their resumes stack up against each other. He says Rakic has never really fought any real top ranked contender.
“Rakic is a top guy, obviously. He’s also really having a lot of success in the UFC lately,” he said. “But the thing, is he hasn’t fought a top 10 guy yet. The only guy close to the top 10 was Jimi Manuwa, but Manuwa was also on a losing streak with a lot of knockout losses – really bad ones. I think he hasn’t faced real competition, like really tough fights.
“He has good wins against people that are not ranked, so it’s also a nice win. But we always see the difference as soon as you hit the top 10 mark. Then you’re seeing a whole different monster.”
Oezdemir’s three losses came at the hands of former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith, and undefeated and current UFC 205-pound title challenger Dominick Reyes.
He also holds wins over notable names in the division such as Manuwa, former UFC 205-pound title challenger Ovince Saint Preux, and Ilir Latifi in his most recent outing.
“I believe I’ve been facing the top competition in all my fights in the UFC,” Oezdemir said. “It was the first time that I was facing someone that was coming off a loss, so other than Ilir, everybody was on a good note – like a lot of win streaks and stuff like that, a lot of prospects and people that are supposed to be really, really good. Also, you can see most of the people I’ve faced are all going for the belt or being next in line for title shots, so then it’s also adding credit to my name.”
Austrian light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakic says he’s ready to gatecrash the UFC’s top-5 with a big win over Volkan Oezdemir in South Korea.
During the recent discussion about the emerging contenders that could potentially face reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, one name flew under the radar. But Austrian light heavyweight contender [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] plans on changing all that and forcing himself into the title-fight narrative in 2020.
Rakic (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) starched British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa last time out at this past June’s UFC on ESPN+ 11 in Sweden, and in the process catapulted himself into the UFC’s light heavyweight top-10. Now, the Austrian finisher is set to head east to South Korea to take on fellow finisher [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] in the co-main event at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on Dec. 21 in Busan. It’s a fight that the 27-year-old Vienna native says is the most important bout of his career.
“Of course,” he told MMA Junkie. “This next fight is the most important fight of my life. Volkan is the perfect matchup for me. When I got the name Volkan Oezdemir, I was really, really happy – not because of anything personal, but because his style of fighting is very good for my style of fighting, and that’s the reason I’m so happy about this fight.”
[lawrence-related id=462594]
Former title challenger Oezdemir is looking to force himself back up to the sharp end of the UFC’s 205-pound division and recently bounced back from a three-fight losing skid with a second-round TKO finish of Swedish powerhouse Ilir Latifi in Uruguay at UFC on ESPN+ 14 in August. Now the Swiss ace will provide an acid test of Rakic’s contender credentials in a mouth-watering battle of knockout artists in the UFC’s final show of 2019.
Rakic acknowledged Oezdemir’s undoubted power but said he possesses a crucial attribute to ensure he can defeat the Swiss contender: speed.
“We all know Volkan is a very powerful guy; I would say he’s one of the most powerful guys in the light heavyweight division,” Rakic admitted. “But he’s not the fastest. So when I watch his fights, whenever he moves forward to launch an attack, I can see it in advance. You can see when he’s about to attack.
“I need to use my range, and my reach, to keep him at distance. For sure, Volkan is going to come forward, like he always does in all of his fights. But I am so ready for this. I have faced opponents like him who are always pushing forward, like Devin Clark and Francimar Barroso, but I shut them down, then I moved forward on them. Looking at our styles, and in every aspect of MMA, I know I have the better cards against Volkan. I have the better wrestling, I have the better grappling, my strength and conditioning – I know it’s all on my side. I just need to prove it on Dec. 21 and the ‘W’ is going to be on my record.”
Victory over a dangerous finisher and former title challenger like Oezdemir should push Rakic – who sits 14th in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings – towards the division’s main contenders at 205 pounds, and the Austrian says he hopes victory in South Korea will help get him a five-round main event spot for his first fight in 2020.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “After I get the win over Volkan, I think the UFC are going to have their eyes on me. I will have beaten two ranked opponents in the UFC light heavyweight division, two strong guys. And of course, if the UFC puts me in the top-5, that’s good, but I want a main event. I want a five-round fight, because we know Jon Jones has fought so many times over five, five-minute rounds, and I need to feel that experience before I face Jon for the title.”
“Thiago Santos is still recovering from the knee injury against Jon. There’s Anthony Smith, but he injured his hand in Sweden, so I don’t know if he is ready to fight, so there’s not so many guys (to call out). There’s Smith, Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz, and I’m going to ask for a fight for the top contender position against one of those guys.”
[vertical-gallery id=412009]
Another goal for Rakic is to fight in the U.S. The Austrian has largely plied his trade on European soil, with a solitary trip to Canada for UFC 231 his only bout across the Atlantic. He said he hopes that a big win over Oezdemir will help get him some traction Stateside and give him an opportunity to headline a card in the U.S., or feature at the top end of a big pay-per-view show.
“I would love to fight in the U.S., because this is going to be my fifth time fighting in the UFC, and I have only once fought on the other side of the Atlantic –in Canada last December,” he said. “I so badly wanted this fight against Volkan to be on the Vegas card on Dec. 14, and I was hoping they would book it there, but the UFC said they had three title fights in Vegas, and instead they put me over in South Korea. I accepted the challenge because I need the opponent, but in the future, I want to fight in the U.S. If the UFC gives me the opportunity to fight in a main event, or on a pay-per-view, that’s going to be even better for me. I’m going to take whatever the UFC gives me, but I definitely want to fight in America soon.”
But first, Rakic faces the toughest test of his career in a part of the world he has never experienced before, as he gets set to make the 16-hour flight from Vienna to Busan to face Oezdemir in South Korea. He’s set to travel on Dec. 9 to complete his camp at a local MMA gym in Busan and give himself two full weeks to acclimatize and shake off any lingering jet lag before fight night, and he said he’s looking forward to the experience of experiencing a completely different culture.
“This is the first time in my life that I’m flying to Asia, and I’m pretty excited,” Rakic enthused. “I’m hearing nothing but good things about the Asian MMA market, and the guys over there are crazy! They love MMA, they support MMA and they’re going crazy about the sport. I think the people are going to treat us very well and, man, I’m so excited for this journey, for this trip. I cannot wait.”
Rakic says his ideal timeline will see him fight in May or June next year to give him time to continue to evolve his growing skillset, but he says his existing arsenal is locked and loaded and he’s ready to make a statement with a big win on Dec. 21.
“Against Volkan, you can expect a better Aleksandar Rakic than you saw against Jimi Manuwa,” he promised. “I’m going to be ready 1 million percent.I’m already in good shape, my weight is very good. I’ve got a hell of a training camp, and everything is planned. The fans can expect fireworks. There’s going to be a big surprise for all the fans around the world.”
