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.
Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack a trifecta of major MMA events and react to the latest news and notes.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,012 of the podcast, the guys unpack a trifecta of major events from the weekend, with Bellator 235 and 236 in Honolulu, as well as UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea. The guys also react to the latest news and notes.
THE RUNDOWN:
The weekend got off to a bad start for Bellator, with former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] forced to withdraw hours before the Bellator 235 headliner because of illness. When and where should Barnett vs. Ronny Markes take place now?
At UFC on ESPN+ 23, [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] took care of business in a big way with a first-round TKO finish of ex-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Did “The Korean Zombie” do enough to shake up plans of title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway? Are you warm to the idea of a No. 1 contender fight against [autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag]?
At Bellator 236, [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] retained her flyweight title with a dominant performance against Kate Jackson, and [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] advanced to the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix with a submission of Derek Campos. The guys weigh in on both outcomes and more from the card.
[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], the Glory Kickboxing middleweight champion better known as the guy who knocked out Israel Adesanya, wants to fight MMA. Are you into it?
[autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] has his next fight lined up for Jan. 25 at Bellator 238. Is this guy a star for the promotion?
It sure does seem like [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] would rather fight [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] instead of receive a welterweight title shot vs. Kamaru Usman. Does this make sense?
Former Bellator champion [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] left the promotion to sign with PFL. Good or bad move for him?
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
See who Frankie Edgar should fight next after his loss to Chan Sung Jung at UFC on ESPN+ 23.
(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Chan Sung Jung and UFC on ESPN+ 23’s other key winners?)
Former UFC champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] was stopped with strikes for just the second time in his career on Saturday when he was finished in the first round by Chan Sung Jung at UFC on ESPN+ 23.
At 38 and with three losses in his past four fights after the featherweight headliner in Busan, South Korea, there’s going to be questions around “The Answer” going forward.
What does the loss mean for Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) going forward? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future.
See who Chan Sung Jung should fight next after his victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC on ESPN+ 23.
[autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] earned the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he defeated former UFC champion Frankie Edgar in the first round of their UFC on ESPN+ 23 headliner.
“The Korean Zombie” needed less than four minutes to batter Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) with strikes into a stoppage in the matchup of featherweight contenders, which took place at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. With the result, Jung (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) now has won three of his past four bouts, earning fight-night bonuses all along the way.
Is that enough to put Jung to the top of the heap in the featherweight division, though? He called out newly crowned champion Alexander Volkanovski post-fight, but the Aussie recently underwent surgery to repair a broken hand.
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To his end, Jung revealed an eye injury that will require a procedure during his post-fight news conference session with reporters, and it remains to be seen how long that could keep him out of action.
So what’s the best move going forward? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Jung’s future after UFC on ESPN+ 23.
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.
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 …
* * * * *
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.”
“The Korean Zombie”, Volkan Oezdemir and Charles Jourdain were among those with specific names in mind for their next fight after UFC on ESPN+ 23.
Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.
So after Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event in Busan, South Korea, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.
* * * * *
First up, let’s take a look at the night’s prelim winners.
Alexandre Pantoja
Wants to fight:[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (for the UFC flyweight title)
The callout: “I think that I’m the next in line for the title. I’ve shown it many times. Maybe it wasn’t my day in that fight (at UFC 240) against Deiveson, but I know I can come back better. My team and I we went over that fight many times. We analyzed it and saw what I could improve. There is always room for improvement, and I’m striving for perfection. I really hope Deiveson wins, and we are able to run it back, this time for the title.”
The reality: The UFC’s flyweight division is wide open once again following Henry Cejudo’s decision to relinquish the 125-pound title, and the crowning of a new champion when Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez meet on Feb. 29 will mark the beginning of a new era for the division.
Pantoja is certainly within touching distance of a title shot, but may actually be better off hoping for a Benavidez win, especially considering the recent form of the division’s other top contender, Jussier Formiga.
Formiga’s last outing saw him lose to Benavidez, which would seemingly give Pantoja a stronger case for the next shot if Benavidez captures the belt. But prior to that defeat, Formiga defeated Figueiredo which, you would assume, would make his case for the first shot more compelling if his fellow countryman wins the title in Norfolk.
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
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the octagon the first time – so how did the newcomer perform on Saturday?
Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For one athlete, Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event marked that special moment in his career.
Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression that fighter made on the sport’s biggest stage from Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea.
Even as I issue this mark, I wonder if I’m being a little harsh. After all, being asked to travel across the Pacific and face an opponent in his own backyard – especially in an environment as rowdy as South Korea can be – is a difficult task, and Omar Morales handled Dong Hyun Ma with relative ease. I guess I was just waiting to see something a little more special during the grinding 15-minute affair.
Morales was able to get a takedown in the opening round, which probably isn’t a bad idea against a capable brawler like MA. He also showed great positional awareness to battle of real kimura setups before the got too threatening. But overall, the offense seemed to lack.
In the second, the output from both men was low on the feet. Morales did let out a big scream at one point, which seemed to indicate some excitement was forthcoming, but he never really turned up the heat. Similar in the third, it was more about control than action. One highlight-reel moment saw a Morales spinning high kick land clean, but once on the ground and on top, there was no real push to finish.
Overall, it wasn’t bad work. It just left something to be desired to really stand out.
Saturday’s UFC event in South Korea drew an announced attendance of 10,651 fans.
Saturday’s UFC event in South Korea drew an announced attendance of 10,651 fans.
UFC officials announced the figures at the night’s post-event news conference. No live gate total for the card was announced, as is typical with many “Fight Night” cards for the UFC overseas.
UFC on ESPN+ 23 took place at Sajik Arena in Busan. It was the UFC’s second in South Korea and first since the promotion debuted in Seoul in November 2015. That event drew an announced attendance of 12,156.
UFC on ESPN+ 23 prelims aired on ESPN before the main card streamed on ESPN+.
In Saturday’s main event, South Korea’s own Chan Sung Jung (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) looked sensational in scoring a first-round TKO stoppage of former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC). Afterward, the man known as “The Korean Zombie” called for a shot at newly minted UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.
