UFC Fight Night 165 Results: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie, fighter suffers a horrific injury, two big knockouts
The final UFC event of the year, UFC Fight Night 165, was live from the Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea.
Frankie Edgar stepped in on short notice to replace the injured Brian Ortega to face The Korean Zombie in the main event.
Doo Ho Choi returned to the Octagon after nearly two years for an important fight against rising Canadian prospect Charles Jourdain.
A huge Light Heavyweight fight between Aleksander Rakic and Volkan Oezdemir was the co-main event of the card which had a perfect balance of highly technical decisions and some hard-hitting knockouts.
On that note, here are the UFC results and highlights of the Fight Night 165:
UFC Fight Night 165 Results: Prelims
Ciryl Gane def. Tanner Boser via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Seungwoo Choi def. Suman Mokhtarian via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-25)
Omar Morales def. Dong Hyun Ma via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
Alexandre Pantoja def. Matt Schnell via KO (punches) (4:17, Round 1)
Raoni Barcelos def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Amanda Lemos def. Miranda Granger via technical submission (rear naked choke) (3:43, Round 1)
Alateng Heili def. Ryan Benoit via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC Fight Night 165 Results: Main Card
#1 Liu Pingyuan vs. Kang Kyung-Ho (Bantamweight)
Liu 'The Hurricane' Pingyuan had lost just one of his last ten fights while Kyung Ho 'Mr/ Perfect' Kang had one defeat in his last six fights, and was currently on a two-fight win streak.
Round 1: Pingyuan came in hot as he extended himself to connect with combinations.
Kang weathered the storm, changed levels within a minute and scored a neat takedown.
Mr. Perfect worked his way into full guard. Pingyuan tried to fire off a few elbows from his back. He even briefly attempted to get a kimura but Kang got his arm out.
Kang landed shots from the top to the side of Liu's body. A few overhand rights too landed for Kang. Pingyuan pushed himself back against the cage and found an opportunity to get back to his feet.
Kang was relentless, however, as he took his opponent down to the mat again. Liu continued to land the elbows from his back. Kang had enjoyed three minutes of top control. Kang got in some big ground and pound shots in the final ten seconds with Liu trying to keep him away with the up kicks. 10-9 Kang
Round 2: Kang began the round with a big head kick. Pingyuan retreated but Kang changed levels and scored another takedown, his third of the fight.
Kang tried to get in a dominant top position but Liu kept himself busy by dishing out some punishment from his back. Pingyuan pushed back against the cage again while Kang continued to land punches to the face.
Kang stayed in full guard and landed some heavy shots after creating some separation in the guard. Liu finally got his back against the cage but Kang pinned him down to the mat again. Liu got in the body lock to minimize the damage. Liu got up on his knees but Kang used his head to blind him and masked it with left-hand punches. 10-9 Kang
Round 3: Liu attempted a few left-hand shots. Kang went for the front kick to the body.
Liu came in for a combination but Kang wasn't home. Liu landed a few low kicks and the double jabs. Kang level-changed but Liu stuffed the takedown attempt. He went for another takedown, but Liu's defence held up. Liu landed a few good knees to the side of Kang's body. Liu slipped and found himself on his back. Kang took advantage and jumped into the guard.
Liu tried to get back up again but Kang was in no mood to let that happen. Liu opened up Kang with a sharp elbow from the bottom. Liu was doing a great job with the elbows from the back. They ended the fight with a back-and-forth brawl on the mat. 10-9 Liu
Result: Kang Kyung-Ho def. Liu Pingyuan via split decision 29-8, 28-28, 30-27
Liu's work from the back convinced one judge that he'd done enough however, Mr. Perfect's top control proved to be the decisive factor for him.