The best and worst from UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie
It wasn’t as entertaining as last weekend’s UFC show, but UFC Fight Island 6 was still pretty good fun. The main event didn’t quite live up to the hype but was still full of solid action, and we got a couple of cool knockouts, too.
Overall – perhaps due to its positioning ahead of one of the biggest UFC shows of 2020 – it likely won’t be remembered come the end of the year. But with the promotion producing so many shows these days, as Dana White would say, it is what it is.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie.
#1 Best: Ortega’s improvements could lead to a UFC title run
The main event last night between Brian Ortega and The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung was one of the most highly anticipated UFC fights of 2020. Even though the two men quashed the bad blood they had prior to the fight, the feeling was still that the two men would go to war – especially with a shot at the UFC Featherweight title on the line.
In the end, though, the fight went five rounds, and surprisingly, it saw Ortega largely outclass the Zombie on the feet, something nobody really saw coming. T-City had been on the shelf for almost two years following his failed shot at then-UFC Featherweight champ Max Holloway, but if he had any ring rust, he didn’t show it last night.
His movement and timing never allowed the Korean Zombie to land his patented heavy strikes, and basically every time Jung stepped forward, he ate something nasty in return. While Ortega didn’t finish his foe – a spinning back elbow in the second round was the closest he came – it was still a hugely impressive performance.
So can these improvements net Ortega the UFC Featherweight title when he faces off with Alexander Volkanovski at some point in the future? It’s very possible. Prior to last night, most people would’ve suggested T-City would be outgunned standing against the Aussie, but now that may not be true. And we all know how dangerous Ortega is on the ground.
Overall, there’s no disputing that T-City was the biggest winner from UFC Fight Island 6.
#1 Worst: Why didn’t the ref stop Park vs. Phillips?
Last night’s UFC prelims were a mixed bag, but the low point definitely came in the Middleweight clash between Jun Yong Park and John Phillips. The fight was dominated by South Korea’s Iron Turtle, who took Phillips down over and over and simply whitewashed him on the ground.
The fight ended up going all three rounds, with the judges awarding Park a lopsided win. However, the question of whether the referee should’ve stepped in has to be asked. All three judges scored the fight 30-25 for the Korean, making it one of the most one-sided wins in UFC history. And in reality, Phillips basically did nothing.
According to the commentators, Park scored nearly 300 strikes on the Welshman. So why wasn’t the fight stopped? Sure, Phillips wasn’t close to being knocked out, nor was he badly hurt at any stage – but the UFC’s rules state that a fighter must intelligently defend themselves at all times. Was Phillips intelligently defending simply by absorbing shots and trying to move every now and then? I’m not so sure.
Either way, a stoppage would saved us from having to watch such a one-sided thrashing, and the fact that we didn’t get that was disappointing.