UFC Fight Night 165: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie - Predictions and Picks
This weekend sees the final UFC show of 2019 – and indeed, of the decade – as the promotion heads to Busan, South Korea for UFC Fight Night 165: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie. The show will mark the second time the UFC has headed to South Korea, following 2015’s Fight Night 79.
The main event sees Korean hero Chan Sung Jung taking on a late replacement in Frankie Edgar, while the rest of the card has a nice mix of homegrown fighters, prospects and veterans.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night 165: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie.
#1 Frankie Edgar vs. Chan Sung Jung
Initially this fight would’ve seen Jung facing off with former title challenger Brian Ortega, but ‘T-City’ was forced to withdraw a week or so ago with a knee injury. Interestingly, Edgar stepping in to take this fight means we’re finally getting the fight that was set to headline the UFC’s 25th anniversary show last year before ‘The Answer’ was forced out and replaced by Yair Rodriguez.
This should be an interesting match, as Edgar will look to use his footwork and movement to avoid the heavy strikes of ‘The Korean Zombie’, and pick him apart on the feet, probably attempting to mix his wrestling game in too. For the Zombie, he’ll be looking to knock Edgar out – or perhaps even submit him on the ground should the fight go there.
For me this comes down to whether Edgar has enough left in the tank to remain a top contender. He was thoroughly outclassed in his title challenge against Max Holloway in July, but of course, Holloway is also a master of cutting angles, catching opponents with combinations they don’t see coming, and controlling the cage. The Korean Zombie is a much more straight-ahead fighter, meaning if Edgar is on form, he’ll be the one dancing around the outside.
The issue for me is that ‘The Answer’ is now 38 years old, and he’s been fighting at the very top against nothing but absolute beasts since 2007 – 12 years ago. He’s taken a ludicrous amount of damage across that period and although Holloway couldn’t finish him, his chin was cracked badly by Ortega in their 2018 fight and I don’t think he’s the same fighter who absorbed an inhuman amount of punishment in two fights with Gray Maynard.
Equally worrying for Edgar should be the boxing skill of Jung; sure, he’s willing to take too many clean strikes, but he also uses a ramrod jab to stop opponents in their tracks, and with a 72” reach, he’s a much longer fighter than the New Jersey native too. And he hits remarkably heavily for a Featherweight, turning out the lights on the likes of Renato Moicano and Dennis Bermudez in the past.
Could Edgar simply look to wrestle? It’s possible, but then it’s been a long time since we saw ‘The Answer’ come in with that kind of gameplan, and even if he can plant the Zombie on his back, the Korean has a truly venomous ground game, with the ability to catch low-percentage submissions from all kinds of positions.
I’ve historically underrated Edgar, so don’t get me wrong, he’s a genuinely great fighter. Unfortunately, I think he peaked some time ago and is now on his way down, while the Zombie is in his prime, is capable of outboxing a slower Edgar, and has heavy knockout power. With Edgar’s chin being cracked by Ortega, I think the Zombie wins this one impressively at home.
The Pick: Jung via third round TKO