FS 78 – Zombie vs Ortega, Flyweight Andrade, and Lomachenko vs López (transcript) (Patreon)

On Saturday, October 17th, fight fans were treated to a great night of fights, courtesy of the UFC, and Top Rank Boxing. Not so long ago, in 2019, it was common for MMA and boxing to have events on the same night, with people switching from one event to the other when one of them wrapped up for the evening. For most of 2020 (for obvious reasons), this kind of schedule was thrown out the window and we were lucky to get the mid-tier Fight Island cards. There were some interesting odds and ends to go over from the events, but let’s start with the Brian Ortega vs Chan Sung Jung fight.

Ring rust doesn’t affect everyone equally, and the time off certainly didn’t seem to affect Brian Ortega much at all. Despite being away from active competition for close to two years, reverse-Samson Ortega beat Jung by unanimous decision, with 50-45 scores from all three judges. There’s a misconception in combat sports that time away from fighting means you’re wasting away your career. Sometimes, that’s true. History is littered with fighters that spend a year or two away from the sport, only to return just to cash in one more payday or delusional enough to think that their old skill set will be enough. For younger fighters, this doesn’t always appear to be the case. Fighters like Ortega can use the time off to sharpen their tools, heal from nagging injuries, and add more weapons to their arsenal. His opponent in this fight, Chan Sung Jung, was away for even longer due to mandatory military service and injuries. It shouldn’t have surprised us as much that Ortega made good use of his time away from the sport.

The fight itself showed an all-around improvement in Ortega’s striking game. Everyone knows to avoid a ground battle with him, but Ortega has been known to have some holes in his striking game. And Ortega was going to have to trade punches with Chan Sung Jung. We at Southpaw became aware that Jung was compromised heading into this match-up and was not surprised by the result.

Jung’s striking has come a long way, especially when it comes to his boxing. He used to be known for his ability to take a punch to give a punch, and refusal to back down no matter how much damage he absorbed. For the newer fans of the sport, this is how he got his nickname, the Korean Zombie. Now he’s one of the best counter strikers in the division. As mentioned in the preview, Jung’s ability to knock out so many fighters is due to his timing and angles. Look for him to slip the opponents jab and hit them with the right hand.

Unfortunately in this fight, Jung looked like he was always a step behind and could never get past Ortega’s jabs and kicks. Following the loss to Holloway, Ortega revamped his training camp and switched things up dramatically. Outside of Rener Gracie, his coaching staff is completely different. Former opponent and current teammate, Cub Swanson, helped Ortega shore up a lot of his striking weaknesses as well as current Bellator bantamweight world champion, Juan Archuleta. Long time Southpaw fans might also recognize Jason Park, a former guest on the podcast, in Ortega’s corner. The jab and body kicks were the big difference-makers, but so were the feints that had Jung hesitant and unable to close the distance.  

Ortega is an interesting fighter in that his game is built around jiu-jitsu, but he’s never developed a proper takedown game. Before the Jung fight, he’s attempted only a handful in his entire career, and most of the time he’s been unsuccessful. His submissions have come as a result of fighters getting hurt on the feet and taking him down only to get submitted, or him snapping down their necks during clinches and strangling them. Even in this fight, his takedown attempts seemed to be setups for his overhand punches. A favorite of Frankie Edgar, faking the takedown with a grab at the lead leg can get opponents to momentarily drop their hands and open their heads up for attacks.

Ortega’s been in plenty of fights where he’s losing but finds a way to win. This was the first fight where he was in control from start to finish, and there wasn’t a real moment where it looked like Jung had Ortega in danger. In that sense, this win was probably the most impressive in Ortega’s career. Not only did he beat an opponent in the top five, but he also did so without having to rely on sheer luck or his opponent making a big mistake.

Jung could be at a crossroads after this match-up. It’s unclear if he suffered some kind of injury or his old wars are catching up to him, but he seemed to be just a step slower in this fight. For someone who does their best work against fighters who move towards him, Jung just couldn’t get into his rhythm and find the timing of Ortega.  In a division where speed kills and is not short on killers, Jung could decide that he has other opportunities elsewhere. Many of you already know how beloved he is in MMA, but in South Korea, the man is a certified celebrity. He has the opportunity right now to pivot his career and go down the same path as Dong Hyun Kim, better known to UFC fans as Stun Gun. There’s a reason you don’t see Kim compete in MMA anymore, he generates a steady income on variety shows in South Korea. He has sponsorship opportunities from companies like Dunkin’ Donuts and is a sought-after spokesperson. Why would he return to a sport where to get to the top, he’d have to fight the likes of Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, and Jorge Masvidal? With a growing family and time not on his side, Jung might decide that his future is better spent elsewhere. After a career full of great fights, can anyone blame him?

This isn’t to say he’s washed up and done after a single loss. But we want to recognize the humanity of fighters and if we care for them as people, it should be imperative that we want what’s best for them in their lives. Well, unless they’re MAGA chuds, then who cares how much damage they take? No one will know the difference. But in most cases, leftist MMA fans know that the UFC is a ruthless business, and they wouldn’t hesitate to discard Jung in a heartbeat if he proved to no longer be worth his value. The athlete should be given the chance to walk away when they can with their health and faculties as intact as possible. Besides, Jung seems like he might be able to make a living selling cool t-shirts.

Ortega on the other hand has re-introduced himself into the title mix. With Holloway 0-2 against the current champion, Alexander Volkanovski, Ortega could find himself with another title shot sooner than later. With the #3 ranked Zabit Magomedsharipov and #5 ranked Yair Rodriguez still tentatively set to face each other soon, Ortega can make an argument after beating the #4 ranked Jung. Volkanovski has no current challenger scheduled, and it’ll be interesting to see if Ortega’s striking has improved enough to give Volkanovski trouble.

In the co-main event, Jessica Andrade defeated Katlyn Chookagian by TKO in the first round. This was Andrade’s flyweight debut, and it’s a weight class where she’s suddenly become a title contender. Andrade originally debuted in the UFC as a bantamweight back in 2013 but moved down to strawweight in 2016. Granted, the flyweight division didn’t exist when she went down to 115 pounds, but Andrade didn’t make the jump up in weight even when the division opened. Perhaps it was because she was on such a roll at strawweight and had racked up four wins in a row. After Valentina Shevchenko claimed the vacant flyweight title, Andrade won the strawweight title a few months later. After back to back defeats, including losses to now champion Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas, Andrade made the trip up to 125 pounds and beat the #1 ranked women’s flyweight in less than one round. Andrade has always had great hooks to the body, but she had never finished anyone with them. Andrade has also made history as the first woman fighter to have wins in three separate weight classes, a feat not many in the men’s division have either. Now with a win and possibly one more victory at flyweight, Andrade could find herself fighting Shevchenko to try and become a two-division champion.

In boxing news, Teofimo Lopez beat Vasyl Lomachenko by unanimous decision in a huge upset. The win allowed Lopez to retain the IBF lightweight title while adding Lomachenko’s WBA, WBO, and the Ring lightweight titles to become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. Both Lopez and Lomachenko have more in common than you think. Both are former amateur boxers that have amassed over a hundred wins before turning professional. Both were trained from youth by their father. Heading into this fight, both boxers had 15 fights each, with Lopez at a perfect 15-0 to Lomachenko’s 14-1. Yes, I know that Lomachenko’s loss was incredibly controversial and a straight-up robbery, but I’m just here to give you their records, not try to right some wrongs. The big questions heading into this fight ranged from if Lopez’s power would be enough to stop Lomachenko. Despite his knockout power, how well can Lopez do if pushed in the later rounds? Is Lomachenko biting off more than he can chew by constantly moving up in weight?

It turned out that Lopez is the real deal. Early on, Lopez took advantage of Lomachenko’s habit of starting slow, only to pick up the pace as the fight goes on. Lopez focused on punches to the body to try and slow down Lomachenko. Even though these didn’t stop him from advancing, the punches did enough to win rounds and keep Lomachenko in place for hooks and 1-2’s. It could be that the power and speed from Lopez kept Lomachenko from probing in as usual, but for one reason or another, he couldn’t get into his rhythm quickly enough. It wasn’t until round 8 that Lomachenko showed some urgency and started putting together combinations to let his hands go. The fight was an instant classic and any attempt by me to capture the magic is going to be doing a huge disservice. Do yourselves a favor and watch the fight when can, you won’t regret it. The last five rounds in particular are filled with both fighters trading combinations, each looking like they could end the fight at any moment. Ignore the outrageous scoring by Julie Lederman, who gave the fight to Lopez 119-109. It was clear that Lopez had done enough to win the fight, but margins like that are terrible and only show that judging in Nevada and boxing as a whole has a long way to make things fair.

Speaking of which, there was one thing that boxing has done right, at least in Nevada. That thing is instant replays. In the Alex Saucedo vs Arnold Barboza fight, the instant replay was used perfectly as intended. Not only did the refs seem to know how to utilize it, but so did the Top Rank commentators. An outside ref can call for a replay if the in-ring ref doesn’t catch it. This doesn’t mean the fight is stopped, it can continue. This also doesn’t have to apply only to fight-ending sequences.

The Nevada Athletic Commission allows instant replays, but the UFC doesn’t take full advantage of this. Since they fight in so many venues all across the world, the promotion gets sloppy and doesn’t have the right procedures in place. What may be okay in one commission is completely off-limits in another. This lack of communication is evident when the state commission, the promotion, the referees, and the commentators all aren’t on the same page of what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. Each side is on their own, and it’s ultimately the athletes who suffer the most.

Anyways, Lopez is just 23 years old and an undisputed world champion. Other legendary boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard established themselves at around this age. Also at 23, Canelo Alvarez used his loss against Mayweather to become the fighter (and promoter) that he is today. Lopez is in a great spot, and the future is bright for the Brooklyn native. Lomachenko may try to ask for an immediate rematch, and with a fight like that, it’s going to be hard to deny him.

Fighting isn’t always easy to watch for fans, but if we have more matches like this at least we’ll have one day of the week to look forward to.