Subscribe to ESPN+ right here for the next UFC “Fight Night” event.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to invade Bon Secours Wellness Arena TONIGHT (Sat., June 22, 2019) as UFC Fight Night 154 featuring Chan Sung Jung taking on Renato Moicano in Greenville, South Carolina. Co-headlining the event is a Welterweight showdown between Bryan Barberena and Randy Brown. But that’s not all, let’s dive in to see what this card has to offer.
What’s Hot:
There is not a whole lot to get excited about here, to be honest. Other than the main event, the rest of the card is really lacking, and this late hiccup didn’t help things.
Renato Moicano was seemingly on the cusp of breaking out on a few occasions, winning his first 11 pro fights, including his first three inside the Octagon. But then he ran into Brian Ortega and lost his momentum. After winning two straight against Calvin Kattar and Cub Swanson, Renato got another big test in Jose Aldo. A win there would’ve put him right back into the championship mix. But, Moicano came up short against his fellow countrymen, losing via second round knockout. Now, Renato will look to once again pick up some steam against one of the most exciting fighters in the division in Chan Sung Jung.
Indeed, “The Korean Zombie” has always put it on the line every night out (example here), making him one of the most beloved fighters in the history of the sport. Unfortunately, since 2013, he has only competed three times, as numerous catastrophic injuries have sidelined him, as did his military duties to his country. After making his comeback in 2016 following a four-year hiatus, he picked up an impressive first-round knockout win over Dennis Bermudez. In his following fight a year and a half later, he was on the verge of picking up a huge win over Yair Rodriguez before he got clipped with a hail Mary elbow from “Pantera” which knocked him out cold at the buzzer.
See it again here.
Six months removed from that devastating loss, Jung looks to bounce back with an impressive outing against Moicano. While both men have a long way to go before they’re even considered title contenders, a win here will be a huge step forward.
What’s Not:
Again, the card is really lacking, as last injuries really brought the intrigue factor quite a bit (which we will discuss below). But to be hoenst, even before the injuries, the card wasn’t looking too hot.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
Cody Stamman and Rob Font were set to duke it out in the co-main event before Cody was forced out of the fight with an injury. John Lineker was pegged as Cody’s replacement, but he too was forced out of the fight just days before showtime with an injury. Who is sparring so hard that you get cut a few days before the fight?
Injuries:
Aside from Stamman and Lineker getting struck down by the injury bug, Markus Perez was forced out of his fight against Deron Winn. Bruno Silva, the man booked to replaced Perez, was in turn forced out with his own injury after he suffered an injury. In the end, Eric Spicely got the call up to face Daniel Cormier’s protege.
New Blood:
Deron Winn will look to impress in his UFC debut, coming in as a man with tons of potential, a good camp and a great mentor in Daniel Cormier. Winn — who previously competed at Light Heavyweight — has won all five of his fights including four knockouts. But if he can’t knock your block off, he can always go to his wrestling skills, as he has a great pedigree in maturer wrestling and trains directly under “DC” at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in California.
His short stature is not too be take nightly despite the fact that most 185-pound fighters will be towering over him. If he gets in close, he can get to work with his hands or simply maul you down. Click here to get an inside look at Winn, courtesy of Patrick L. Stumberg.
How the ‘Prelim’s’ Look:
Dan Ige — who is on a three fight win streak — will face off against Kevin Aguilar, who is on a nice nine-fight win streak including winning his first three fights inside the Octagon. This 145-pound matchup will be a huge test for both men and allow the victor to creep up the ladder.
Also, Matt Wiman (remember him?) will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon to face Luis Pena. Matt last competed in 2014, defeating Issac Vallie-Flag via unanimous decision. A back injury has kept “Handsome” out of commission for some time, and now he looks to get back into the swing of things in what will be just his third fight in six years.
And of course, Deron Winn will look to make an immediate impact in his UFC debut against Eric Spicely. Before he starts getting main card love, he has to start at the bottom of the “prelims” just like everybody else not named Brock Lesnar.
To get a better look at all of the undercard action click here and here.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
The only person on a losing streak longer than one is Syuri Kondo, who has dropped her last two fights inside the octagon to Xiaonan Yan and Poliana Botelho. Prior to that, Kondo had won six in a row including her UFC debut against Chanmi Jeon. While a loss probably won’t get her cut, it won’t look good moving forward, especially if she has contract negotiations looming.
Interest Level: 5/10
The card suffered a major blow when John Lineker — was was begging for a fight, got it, then got mysteriously injured — had to bow out. While his matchup against Font was late notice, “Hands of Stone” did add a bit of much-needed star power to the event that is lacking overall.
Now, the co-main event will see Bryan Barberena face off against Randy Brown. Both men came up short in their last fight, so they are looking to bounce back into the win column. Andrea Lee will look to add to her impressive six-fight win streak when she takes on Montana De la Rosa, who is always riding high with a four fight win streak. The two ladies are a couple of the most talented rising stars in the women’s Flyweight division, but can seem to get the media love or catch headlines such as the likes of Paige VanZant.
The winner here gets a huge boost in momentum and will climb up a few pegs in the division, getting closer to a shot at the title. Of course, their prize would eventually be a showdown against the “terrifying” Valentina Shevhcenko.
But of course, the main event is really why anyone will tune in, as we can be in store for a another “Fight of the Night” performance when two of the most exciting 145-pounders in the division meet up. Jung is simply allergic to boring fights, and Moicano is more than willing to tango in any area “Zombie” wants to.
Full UFC Fight Night 154 Fight Card:
UFC Fight Night 154 Main Event:
145 lbs.: Renato Carneiro vs. Chan Sung Jung
UFC Fight Night 154 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.:Rob Fontvs.John Lineker— SCRATCHED (Full Details Here)
170 lbs.: Bryan Barberena vs. Randy Brown
125 lbs.: Montana De La Rosa vs. Andrea Lee
185 lbs.: Alessio Di Chirico vs. Kevin HollandUFC Fight Night 154 Prelims on ESPN2 (4 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Kevin Aguilar vs. Dan Ige
115 lbs.: Syuri Kondo vs. Ashley Yoder
145 lbs.: Luis Pena vs. Matt Wiman
265 lbs.: Allen Crowder vs. Jair Rozenstruik
125 lbs.: Ariane Lipski vs. Molly McCann
185 lbs.: Deron Winn vs. Eric Spicely
145 lbs.: Anderson dos Santos vs. Andre Ewell
*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.
For more upcoming UFC events click here.