The UFC's third outing on Fuel TV was short on big names, but when the 24 fighters stepped in the cage, the event at the Patriot Center was long on action. The 12-bout card at the Patriot Center delivered the goods, leading up to a worthy Fight of the Year contender in the main event between Dustin Poirier and the "Korean Zombie" Chan-Sung Jung. Along the way, Cody McKenzie got back to his choking ways (and we mean that in the best way possible), Tom Lawlor got a $40,000 birthday present when he knocked out Jason MacDonald to win the Knockout of the Night award, and Amir Sadollah improved to 6-3 in his pro MMA career.
So, what does it all mean? Here are three lessons to take from Tuesday night's card:
1. The Korean Zombie is smarter than his nickname
Chan-Sung Jung should never change his nickname. Ever. Anytime the UFC uses a fighter's nickname instead of his real name to promote a fight - as in cards headlined by "Rampage" Jackson, Mirko Cro Cop or Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - you know the nickname is a selling point. Plus, it looks great on a T-shirt. It's obvious that Chan-Sung Jung will always be better known to fight fans as "The Korean Zombie."
But he's not a zombie anymore.
In Tuesday's preview on SWR, we suggested that a Jung victory over Dustin Poirier might not be enough to make him the top contender for Jose Aldo's UFC Featherweight Title, pointing out that Jung had gone .500 in his previous six fights. In the wake of his win over Poirier, though - snapping the Louisiana native's five-fight win streak - it's clear that a title shot would not be undeserved, because the fighter who's won three straight is very different from the fighter who lost three of four between May 2009 and September 2010.
Jung earned his nickname with his granite jaw and his willingness to keep on coming in the face of opponents' strikes. Since suffering the first knockout of his career against George Roop, though, Jung has fought more intelligently than a "zombie," showing off his slick submission skills - against Leonard Garcia last year, he became the first fighter in UFC history to submit an opponent with a Twister - and his punching power.
The fight with Poirier was something of a master class in the "mix" of mixed martial arts. Jung was on target with his striking, adept at taking Poirier to the ground, and determined in going for submission attempts, including armbar and triangle choke attempts late in the second round that seemed close to ending the bout. When Jung eventually ended the fight with a D'Arce choke early in the fourth round, he showed just how dangerous he really is.
Jung earned $80,000 in bonus money on Tuesday night - $40,000 for the Submission of the Night and $40,000 for his role in the Fight of the Night - and showed that he's worthy of challenging Jose Aldo should he successfully defend his title this summer against Erik Koch. Does he have a chance to take the title? It would be interesting to see how Jung's famous chin stands up to Aldo's striking, and Jung definitely has the submission game to give the champion problems, but he'd still be an underdog.
In the meantime, though, he's a star on the rise.
2. The conventional wisdom about the WEC applies...to Kamal Shalorus
When the UFC merged with the WEC at the end of 2010, a number of fans and pundits suggested that while the UFC would benefit from the addition of the featherweight and bantamweight classes, the lightweights of the WEC wouldn't be able to keep up with the 155-poundersd on the UFC roster. Obviously, with Ben Henderson taking the UFC Lightweight Championship from Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis looking like a future challenger for that title, and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone getting his fifth win in six UFC bouts on Tuesday against Jeremy Stephens, that theory has been put to rest.
Kamal Shalorus, however, is looking like the exception that defines the rule.
The "Prince of Persia was 7-0-2 when the UFC absorbed the WEC, having defeated Bart Palaszewski at the final WEC event in December 2010. Since coming to the UFC, though, Shalorus is 0-3, and has lost back-to-back fights by rear naked choke after getting tapped out by Rafael Dos Anjos on Tuesday. "Three strikes and you're out" isn't a hard-and-fast rule in the UFC, but it's fairly likely that Shalrous' next bout will be someplace other than the Octagon.
3. Cody McKenzie is a one-trick pony...but oh my, what a trick!
Let's get the obvious part out of the way: Cody McKenzie didn't do a whole lot well on Tuesday night against Marcus LeVesseur. The UFC newcomer overmatched McKenzie in the striking game, put him on the mat with relative ease and appeared to be on his way to a victory. Once McKenzie was able to get into full guard, however, it was all over. McKenzie locked on his famous guillotine choke and got the victory 3:05 into the first round.
It should be noted, of course, that applying a guillotine choke from the guard - as opposed to taking the neck from a dominant position and then using your legs to wrap up your opponent's torso - is no easy feat. There's a reason that McKenzie's last 11 wins have all been by guillotine: he's good at it. However, it's still unclear just how far he can go with it.
cKenzie has done well for himself in the cage, with a 13-2 record. Since he broke into the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter, he's provided some memorable moments, including his 18-second victory over the ultra-cocky Marc Stevens. However, his two UFC bouts against significant opposition - Vagner Rocha and Yves Edwards - have both ended in submission losses. Until McKenzie shows overall improvement in his game, he's going to be something of a sideshow attraction, particularly in the talent-packed 155-pound division. But there's no doubt that he's entertaining.
