UFC on ESPN+ 23 predictions: Is it ‘Korean Zombie’ or Frankie Edgar in South Korea?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN+ 23 main card in Busan, South Korea.

Edgar
vs.
C. Jung
Oezdemir
vs.
Rakic
Choi
vs.
Jourdain
D. Jung
vs.
Rodriguez
Barriault
vs.
Park
Kang
vs.
Pingyuan
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2019: 210-125 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
(64%)
rakic2019
Rakic
(61%)
choi2019
Choi
(89%)
jung2019
D. Jung
(65%)
barriault2019
Barriault
(57%)
kang2019
Kang
(76%)
Simon Head
@simonhead
2019: 127-66 (66%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2019: 121-67 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2019: 215-120 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2019: 214-121 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2019: 214-121 (64%)
trophy copy 2017 Champion
edgar2019
Edgar
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2019: 212-123 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2019: 210-125 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2019: 207-128 (62%)
trophy copy 2014 Champion
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2019: 206-129 (61%)
edgar2019
Edgar
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2019: 110-72 (60%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2019: 201-134 (60%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2019: 137-106 (56%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2019: 175-160 (52%)
edgar2019
Edgar
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
jourdain2019
Jourdain
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
pingyuan2019
Pingyuan

The UFC touches down in South Korea this week, and a home-country hero headlines the show.

UFC on ESPN+ 23 takes place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

[lawrence-related id=469415,469432]

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.

Check out all the picks above.

[vertical-gallery id=391998]