Preview: UFC Fight Night 225 ‘Holloway vs. Korean Zombie’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday heads back to Singapore for the first time in more than a year and does so with a surprisingly loaded lineup. UFC Fight Night 225 features four fights between ranked opponents, headlined by a dream matchup pitting longtime fan favorites Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung against one another. The co-main event sees a fun light heavyweight rematch of a 2021 encounter between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann, but the most important bout on the card likely falls further down at women’s flyweight, where the Erin Blanchfield-Taila Santos winner figures to be in prime position for a title shot. Add in the long-awaited return of Giga Chikadze and the latest appearance from Japanese prospect Rinya Nakamura, and this should be a compelling watch.

Now to the UFC Fight Night “Holloway vs. Korean Zombie” preview:

Featherweights

#13 P4P | Max Holloway (24-7, 20-7 UFC) vs. #8 FW | Chan Sung Jung (17-7, 7-4 UFC)

ODDS: Holloway (-850), Jung (+520)

If nothing else, it is nice to see this fight between two of the sport’s most beloved violence-bringers take place, even if the timing does not feel particularly right. While Holloway’s career is in an odd spot, it is also good to see that the former featherweight champ has not shown any signs of slowing down while he finds himself locked out of the title picture. Signed by the UFC in 2012 as a fresh-faced 20-year-old, Holloway had a rocky start to his Octagon campaign before stringing together 13 straight wins, during which he seemed to affirm himself as the future of the sport. His dominant title win over Jose Aldo in 2017 felt like a true passing of the torch, as Holloway was on the cutting edge of the high-paced volume striking game that would become the new baseline for mixed martial arts a few years later. A one-off move up to try and compete in the lightweight title picture mostly affirmed that the Hawaiian was at his best at 145 pounds, and “Blessed” has continued to cement himself as one of the best fighters in the world with some impressive victories in recent years. However, almost none of them have come as champion, thanks to the existence of Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian won two hotly contested decisions over Holloway to earn and defend the featherweight title, but the Hawaiian seemed to hit a new level as he stormed back towards top contender status. His 2021 win over Calvin Kattar, which at one point saw Holloway outboxing the Bostonian while looking away to talk to the commentary booth, remains a display of dominance at a level few have reached. That just made it all the more impressive when the trilogy fight between “Alexander The Great” and Holloway ended even more definitively, with Volkanovski leaving no question who the better man was after a stunning five-round beating. Once recovered, Holloway picked up right where he left off with a one-sided main event win over Arnold Allen, proving once again that the former champ remains a level above everyone except the current titleholder. For once, Holloway will take a break from picking off potential title contenders and instead pivot to a dream match of sorts against “The Korean Zombie.”

Jung has talked retirement in recent years, and while it is unclear if that will happen here or whenever the promotion returns to South Korea—that was the plan in February before Jung suffered an injury—this is at least a potential opportunity for an all-time great to go out on his shield. Jung’s stateside debut in 2010 was a rare bit of magic, as he went from unknown to fan favorite in about 20 minutes between his walkout, one of the best nicknames in the sport and the fight itself, a three-round war against Leonard Garcia that was one of the best fights of all-time. From there, Jung was essentially a made man promotionally, and after another “Fight of the Year” contender—this time in 2012 against Dustin Poirier—Jung had enough momentum to step in against Aldo for the featherweight title a year later. That fight went particularly poorly—Aldo dominated before Jung suffered a major shoulder injury that led to a finish shortly thereafter—but did little to hurt the challenger’s stock, even in absentia. Between the injury and Jung’s mandatory military service, he was out of action for roughly three and a half years, but once he returned and knocked out Dennis Bermudez, it was like he had never left. Given what Jung has put his body through, he has not been particularly active since his comeback, even if it has been decently successful. A 2021 victory over Dan Ige marked three wins in four fights, which in turn was enough to give Jung a push into a title fight against Volkanovski in April 2022. That mostly affirmed that Jung, particularly with the more patient and counter-heavy style he has adopted in recent years, is no longer truly among the featherweight elite, but it was at least good to see him get one last shot at the belt, bittersweet as it was. There is a similar bittersweet feeling here. Both men wanted this fight and it would have been amazing if it was prime against prime, but unless Jung hits the counter of his life against one of the most sickeningly durable men in the history of the sport, this feels like a Holloway win that will only get more one-sided as the fight goes on. The pick is Holloway via fourth-round stoppage.

Jump To »
Holloway vs. Jung
Spann vs. Smith
Chikadze vs. Caceres
Nakamura vs. Garcia
Blanchfield vs. Santos
Tafa vs. Porter
The Prelims