Preview: UFC Fight Night 197 Prelims

Light Heavyweights

NR | Da Un Jung (14-2-1, 3-0-1 UFC) vs. NR | Kennedy Nzechukwu (9-1, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Jung (-115), Nzechukwu (-105)

This is an extremely well-made fight between two top light heavyweight talents. Nzechukwu came to the UFC as an extremely raw prospect. He was just months into his professional career when he earned a developmental contract via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, and he was still inexperienced when he won a full contract a year later. The upside is gigantic for the “African Savage,” as he is a well-schooled fighter with an extremely long frame for the division. The issue thus far for Nzechukwu has been finding a second gear. At first, Nzechukwu was mostly content to just coast on his natural talents without ever turning up the heat. However, his last two fights have seen him make some progress—in a way. Carlos Ulberg and Danilo Marques each dominated the early stretches of their fights with Nzechukwu, Ulberg with strikes and Marques with wrestling. As soon as they tired, Nzechukwu finally brought out the aggression, pouring on volume for some impressive stoppages. Such slow and defensive starts do not seem to be by design, so that raises the possibility of what Nzechukwu looks like once he gets more comfortable and can get off to a quick start. When he does, he has as much upside as anybody in the division. He gets a difficult test in a bit of a mirror match against Jung, another lanky prospect with his own issues applying pressure. While Nzechukwu has stayed inactive in the face of some early offense, Jung is just more patient by default. His 2020 draw against Sam Alvey showed that Jung was content to just lay back and not do much of anything against a void of an opponent. When pressed into action, the Korean has looked extremely sharp: He clipped Mike Rodriguez for a knockout in a shade over a minute and had a surprising amount of success with a wrestling-heavy approach against a human ball of muscle in William Knight. For as well-matched as this fight looks, it could be for all the wrong ways early, as both men figure to be tentative in feeling each other out, particularly with their being among the other’s longest opponents. Nzechukwu seems likeliest to fill that void, and that is enough to give him an advantage in a fight that could go any number of ways from there, particularly as both men figure to build rather than fade. It is a difficult call, but the pick is Nzechukwu via decision.