Thoughts and analysis on the key storylines coming out of UFC Busan, which saw Chan Sung Jung stop Frankie Edgar in the main event.
What mattered most at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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1. Frankie Edgar’s future unclear
It’s hard to assess [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] after his TKO loss to [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag]. He got hurt and stopped in the first round. But before the finish, he showed the trademark durability that’s given him a reputation as one of the toughest fighters in MMA history.
We’ve seen from Jung’s highlight reel that he’s one of the hardest hitters at 145 pounds, so losing to him via strikes isn’t exactly an indictment on Edgar. Many others have met the same fate, but because Edgar is 38 and had only been stopped by strikes once prior, the questions about how much he’s lost will come up.
There’s no doubt Edgar has endured a lot of punishment in his more than seven hours of UFC fight time, which is the most in company history. Perhaps the loss to Jung marked the beginning of a downward trajectory, but with Edgar being just one fight removed from competing for UFC gold, more evidence is still needed.
Edgar will likely make the drop to bantamweight next in a long overdue move. Whenever that does happen, a close eye will surely be kept on “The Answer.”
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
The best stats and figures about UFC on ESPN+ 23, which features a Frankie Edgar vs. Chan Sung Jung main event.
The UFC’s final event of the year – and the decade – takes place Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 23. The 13-fight lineup goes down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea and streams entirely on ESPN+.
A matchup of featherweight contenders headlines the card. After the original booking between [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) fell through in November 2018, the pair will finally share the octagon.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, check below for 60 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 23.
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Main event
Frankie Edgar
Edgar, 38, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Edgar’s five losses in UFC championship fights are tied with B.J. Penn for most in company history behind Randy Couture (six).
Edgar is 8-4 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in February 2013.
Edgar’s total fight time of 7:12:33 in UFC competition is the most in company history.
Edgar’s 1,559 significant strikes landed in UFC competition are third most in company history behind Max Holloway (2,071) and Michael Bisping (1,567).
Edgar’s 68 takedowns landed in UFC competition are tied for fourth most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (90), Gleison Tibau (84) and Demetrious Johnson (74).
Edgar’s 259 total strikes landed against Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57 are the second most in a single UFC/WEC featherweight contest behind Holloway’s 307 against Brian Ortega at UFC 231.
Edgar’s submission of Swanson at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 57 is tied for the third-latest stoppage in a UFC bout behind Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186 (4:59, Round 5) and Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 139 (4:59, Round 5).
Edgar is one of two fighters in UFC history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions inside the octagon. He did so against B.J. Penn. Tito Ortiz (Ken Shamrock) also accomplished the feat.
Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to suffer three knockdowns in a single round and not lose the fight. The feat occurred in his UFC 125 draw with Gray Maynard.
Chan Sung Jung
Jung competes in his sixth consecutive UFC headliner. He’s 3-2 in previous main event fights.
Jung is the only South Korean fighter in history to challenge for a UFC title. He lost to then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163 in August 2013.
Jung has alternated wins and losses in his past five fights. He won his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 21.
Jung is 2-1 since he returned from a more than three-year layoff from competition in February 2017.
Jung has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. That includes all five of his UFC wins.
Jung’s 6.2-second knockout of Mark Hominick at UFC 140 is the third fastest knockout in UFC history behind Jorge Masvidal’s five-second win at UFC 239 and Duane Ludwig’s six-second finish at UFC Fight Night 3.
Jung is the only featherweight in UFC/WEC combined history to earn multiple knockout wins in less than one minute.
Jung registered the first twister submission finish in UFC history when he defeated Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24. Bryce Mitchell has the only other finish using the technique in company history.
Jung has received seven fight-night bonus in seven UFC fights.
Jung’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Holloway, Cub Swanson and Yair Rodriguez for most in divisional history.
Co-main event
Volkan Oezdemir
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has earned 13 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 12 of those wins by knockout.
Oezdemir is one of eight modern-era fighters to earn back-to-back knockouts in less than one minute each. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Walt Harris, Francis Ngannou, Johnny Walker, Mike Swick, Caio Magalhaes and Ilir Latifi also accomplished the feat.
Oezdemir lands 5.04 significant strikes per minute in UFC light heavyweight competition, the second highest rate among active fighter in the weight class behind Ion Cutelaba (5.27).
Aleksander Rakic
[autotag]Aleksander Rakic[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) enters the event on a 12-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since his MMA debut in October 2011.
Rakic’s four-fight UFC winning streak in light heavyweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Dominick Reyes (six).
Rakic has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished nine of those wins by knockout.
Rakic is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC 231.
Rakic landed 78 significant ground strikes at UFC Fight Night 134, the single-fight record for a UFC light heavyweight bout.
Remaining main card
Dooho Choi
[autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Jan. 14, 2019. The 351-day layoff is the longest of his more than 10-year career.
Choi enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2016.
Choi’s average fight time of 5:26 in UFC featherweight competition is the second shortest in divisional history behind Mike de la Torre (4:25).
Choi has earned all three of his UFC victories by first-round knockout in a total fight time of four minutes and 33 seconds.
Choi’s 18-second knockout of Juan Puig at UFC Fight Night 57 stands as the second-fastest debut in UFC featherweight history behind Makwan Amirkhani’s eight-second win at UFC on FOX 14.
[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 24, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Da Un Jung
[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters the event on an 11-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since October 2015.
[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is 3-1 since he returned to competition from a nearly 3.5-year layoff in January 2018.
Kang has completed at least one takedown in seven of his eight UFC appearances.
Kang lands 64 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Preliminary card
Ciryl Gane
[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) makes his third UFC appearance since debuting with the promotion in August.
Gane has earned all five of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by submission.
Gane’s victory at 4:46 of Round 3 at UFC on ESPN+ 20 is the latest submission in a UFC heavyweight fight.
[autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag] (16-10-3 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is 3-3 since he dropped to the UFC lightweight division in June 2016.
Alexandre Pantoja
[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) lands 4.40 significant strikes per minute in UFC flyweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind John Lineker (5.43).
[autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]’s (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak in flyweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Henry Cejudo (four).
Schnell’s victory at 1:23 of Round 1 at UFC on ESPN 5 is second fastest submission in UFC flyweight history.
Schnell earned the first triangle choke submission in UFC flyweight history at UFC on ESPN 5.
Schnell’s two submission victories by triangle choke in UFC competition are tied for the most in company history.
Said Nurmagomedov
[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the body. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (6-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since July 16, 2017. The 888-day layoff is the longest of her more than five-year career.
Lemos drops two weight classes to the strawweight division after making her UFC debut at women’s bantamweight.
[autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 18, 2017. The 763-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 11-year career.
Benoit moves up to the UFC bantamweight division after spending his previous promotional appearances at flyweight.
Benoit has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights. He won his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 121 in November 2018.
Benoit is one of three fighters to earn a knockout victory stemming from a head kick in UFC flyweight history. Louis Smolka and Dustin Ortiz also accomplished the feat.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Ciryl Gane is happy with how his career has been progressing ahead of his fight vs. Tanner Boser at UFC Busan.
[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] is one of the fresh, young faces in the UFC’s heavyweight division and is in no rush to be fast-tracked.
Already 2-0 in the UFC with back-to-back submission wins over Raphael Pessoa and Don’Tale Mayes, “Bon Gamin” will be stepping into his third fight of 2019 when he takes on [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea.
And should things go his way, he doesn’t necessarily have a next opponent in mind. After all, Gane (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has only been in the game for less than five years.
“If I win my next fight, we’ll see what the matchmakers have in store for me, but I’m not in a hurry,” Gane told MMA Junkie. “I think things are already progressing pretty well for me. It’s only been five years that I started combat sports, so things are going well for me.”
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At Saturday’s event, ge takes on a far more experienced Boser (17-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who has more than four times his cage experience. Gane may have more momentum going into their fight, but he is wary of what Boser brings to the table.
“He’s an opponent that I have to be cautious against because he doesn’t have one specific strong suit,” Gane said. “He can do a bit of everything, so I have to be careful.”
Training out of MMA Factory in Paris, Gane was joined by Volkan Oezdemir for this camp, who spent some time training with him in France. The two met in Uruguay where they both competed at August’s UFC on ESPN+ 14, and they will be sharing the same card once again in South Korea.
Gane says ge went about this training camp the same way he always does, mainly concerned with what he wants to do in the fight.
“Preparation will be the same like for the other fights, focusing mainly on what I’m going to do but also what he’s good at and where he’s dangerous,” Gane said. “Volkan became a friend of mine after UFC Uruguay, and it’s an opportunity to have him visit the gym from time to time.”
Another victory would go a long way in building his name, and despite the recent news that the legalization of MMA in France will be slightly delayed, the French heavyweight is not too concerned, and is confident that the UFC will be headed to France by the end of next year, where he’ll almost certainly be placed on the card.
“Yes, it was pushed but only for a short time from what I heard, therefore it’s just a small detail, and the UFC will be making it’s debut in France at the end of 2020,” Gane said.
Gane, who picked up a $50,000 performance bonus in his last outing, submitting Mayes via heel hook, knows the importance of versatility in this heavyweight division.
“As you said, it’s not common for heavyweights, so I think it sends a strong message for my future opponents,” Gane said.
And how does he get the job done against Tanner? Gane doesn’t have a prediction, but one thing he can promise is that he will put on another show on Dec. 21.
“Unfortunately, I can’t predict the outcome of my fights; it’s always a surprise,” Gane said. “What I can assure you is that my nickname ‘Bon Gamin’ is always associated with entertainment.”
