Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier ‘Fight of the Night’ Video Highlights

(Props: FoxSports)

The main event of last night’s UFC on FUEL TV 3 event blew past its already high expectations. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier set a frenetic pace for over three rounds, with Jung dominating the fight both in the standup and on the ground. In the end, Jung rocked Poirier with punches and a flying knee, and put “Diamond” to sleep on the mat with a d’arce choke at the 1:07 mark of round four. You can check out highlights from their scrap above, including an excerpt from Jung’s astounding grappling clinic in round two.

The match earned both men $40,000 Fight of the Night bonuses, and Jung picked up an additional $40k for the event’s Submission of the Night (“What about meeeeeeee?!” – The McKenzietine). Knockout of the Night went to Tom Lawlor, who celebrated his birthday then starched Jason MacDonald in just 50 seconds.

After the jump: Dustin Poirier gets emotional in a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani, and full results from UFC on FUEL TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier.


(Props: FoxSports)

The main event of last night’s UFC on FUEL TV 3 event blew past its already high expectations. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier set a frenetic pace for over three rounds, with Jung dominating the fight both in the standup and on the ground. In the end, Jung rocked Poirier with punches and a flying knee, and put “Diamond” to sleep on the mat with a d’arce choke at the 1:07 mark of round four. You can check out highlights from their scrap above, including an excerpt from Jung’s astounding grappling clinic in round two.

The match earned both men $40,000 Fight of the Night bonuses, and Jung picked up an additional $40k for the event’s Submission of the Night (“What about meeeeeeee?!” – The McKenzietine). Knockout of the Night went to Tom Lawlor, who celebrated his birthday then starched Jason MacDonald in just 50 seconds.

After the jump: Dustin Poirier gets emotional in a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani, and full results from UFC on FUEL TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier.


(Props: youtube.com/fueltv)

MAIN CARD
Chan Sung Jung def. Dustin Poirier via technical submission (d’arce choke), 1:07 of round 4
Amir Sadollah def. Jorge Lopez via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Donald Cerrone def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Yves Jabouin def. Jeff Hougland via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26)
Igor Pokrajac def. Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
Tom Lawlor def. Jason MacDonald via KO, 0:50 of round 1

PRELIMINARY CARD
– Brad Tavares def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Cody McKenzie def. Marcus LeVesseur via submission (guillotine choke), 3:05 of round 1
– T.J. Grant def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Rafael Dos Anjos def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:40 of round 1
– Johnny Eduardo def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Francisco Rivera def. Alex Soto via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

‘UFC on FUEL TV 3: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier’ — Live Results and Commentary


(Impressed, Jung decided to get a tattoo of the outline of Louisiana, mistaking it as the American symbol for “courage.” / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Tonight at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, two of the most exciting forces in the featherweight division will square off for the next shot at the UFC’s 145-pound belt. After a 2011 that saw him twist up Leonard Garcia then knock out Mark Hominick in seven seconds, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung now faces Dustin Poirier, the 23-year-old phenom who’s smashed through four straight opponents during his time in the Octagon.

Also on the six-fight UFC on FUEL TV 3 main card: TUF winner Amir Sadollah returns against Jorge Lopez, Donald Cerrone throws down against Jeremy Stephens, and Tom “Neo Genki” Lawlor meets up with Canadian vet Jason MacDonald.

Handling the play-by-play for this evening is Justin Corey, better known around these parts as Kid Clam Curtains. Live results from the FUEL TV main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.


(Impressed, Jung decided to get a tattoo of the outline of Louisiana, mistaking it as the American symbol for “courage.” / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Tonight at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, two of the most exciting forces in the featherweight division will square off for the next shot at the UFC’s 145-pound belt. After a 2011 that saw him twist up Leonard Garcia then knock out Mark Hominick in seven seconds, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung now faces Dustin Poirier, the 23-year-old phenom who’s smashed through four straight opponents during his time in the Octagon.

Also on the six-fight UFC on FUEL TV 3 main card: TUF winner Amir Sadollah returns against Jorge Lopez, Donald Cerrone throws down against Jeremy Stephens, and Tom “Neo Genki” Lawlor meets up with Canadian vet Jason MacDonald.

Handling the play-by-play for this evening is Justin Corey, better known around these parts as Kid Clam Curtains. Live results from the FUEL TV main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

Jason MacDonald VS. Tom Lawlor

Alright potatonibblets.  It’s dirty time.  I have a  2 year old hellion so lets hope she doesn’t fuck up shop during my commentary.  I’m interested to see Lawlor’s entrance.  Let’s hope they show it.  I believe he came out as buckethead or something during the weigh-ins?  Oh Genki Sudo.  No entrances shown.  Bummer.

Round 1- Ok and we’re off.  Lawlor comes out pressing the action.  MacDonald shoots for a takedown that Lawlor stuffs easily.  Lawlor throws a left followed by a right behind the ear.  And MacDonald is out!  Jesus that happened fast.  MacDonald seems like he’s fine but has to be sick right now.  More like The Mathlete, amirite?

Tom Lawlor winner by KO at 0:50 of the “very” first round

Igor Pokrajac VS. Fabio Maldonado

Round 1- 2 heavy-hitting LHW’s about to go at it.  I remember Maldonado’s physique is deceiving.  Maldonado throws a right haymaker and gets taken down.  Pokrajac in half guard looking for the mount.  Dropping elbows and hammer fists but not doing any damage.  Scramble and Pokrajac gets mount.  Maldanado gets back to half guard and is avoiding any offense from Pokrajac.  Pokrajac trying to pin the arm down and drop punches but not successful thus far.  Pokrajac loses position in scramble and now they stand up.  Both guys landing big shots.  Maldonado throwing unanswered blows and Pokrajac is hurt.  Maldonado landing big body shots against the cage and Pokrajac lands a good knee.  Maldonado mixing it up with huge shots to the head and body.  Great first round.

Round 2– Both guys being a bit more conservative now after taking some big shots in the first.  Pokrajac lands a good combination to the head and shoots for a single against the cage.  Maldonado able to keep him off and now they’re just holding each other lovingly.  Pokrajac with a good knee followed by a combination to the head. Maldonado lands some big blows to the body that backs Pokrajac up.  Those body shots look brutal.  Maldonado knows those are doing damage and keeps with is.  Pokrajac with another knee followed by a spinning backfist.  Great fight.  Maldonado with a falling-over takedown.  And that’s the end of the round.  Both fighters look tired and rightly so.

Round 3– Both guys come out swinging.  Pokrajac up against the cage and Maldonado going back to the body.  Pokrajac back to the thai clinch.  Good knee from Pokrajac but Maldonado eats it.  Huge left hand by Pokrajac and Maldonado looks wobbly.  They clinch up against the cage and both guys are breathing heavy.  Maldonado’s face looking pretty beat but he’s coming forward.  Pokrajac lands a big left but Maldonado keeps coming and now they’re trading heavy shots.  Man these 2 dudes have good chins.  And they finish swinging.  Tough one to call but it was definitely entertaining.  Let’s hope I don’t have to spell Pokrajac and Maldonado again.

Igor Pokrajac is your winner by Unanimous Decision

Yves Jabouin VS. Jeff Hougland

Round 1– Excited for this one.  Hougland looks like a weight class bigger than Jabouin.  Not sure it will matter.  Jabouin with a lightning fast leg kick then follows up with a left.  Both guys feinting a lot.  Not a lot of action but Jabouin has some amazing dexterity.  3 minutes in and almost nothing has happened.  Push kick from Jabouin the only strike to land in 2 minutes.   HUGE spinning back kick to the liver by Jabouin and Hougland crumples to the canvas.  He’s still fighting back but just barely.  Jabouin might regret not diving on him more aggressively as Hougland looked like he was done.  And he survives the round.

Round 2– Hougland being a bit more aggressive to start the round.  Eats another kick to the body and shoots for a TD.  Jabouin scrambles away and throws a head kick that misses.  Jabouin with another good kick to the body and Hougland answers with a couple inside leg kicks.  Hougland tries the spinning backfist and misses.  Jabouin easily  avoiding most of Hougland’s strikes.  Hougland tries for another TD but is stuffed.  Nice stiff jab by Jabouin and lands another kick to the body.  Hougland needs a new gameplan as he’s losing convincingly.  Short left by Jabouin glances off Hougland’s chin.  And that’s the end of the round.

Round 3– Jaboun pushing forward and lands a nice left hook that drops Hougland.  Ref warns about Jabouin striking to the back of the head.  Now he’s dropping brutal ground and pound and takes Hougland’s back.  Jabouin slips off and Hougland reverses position.  They scramble and Jabouin end up on top in half guard.  Jabouin dropping short elbows then moves to mount…and now back to full guard.  Jabouin stacking Hougland against the cage and lands a couple shots.  Hougland still battling from the bottom but he’s eating some decent hammerfists.  Jabouin in half guard posturing up intermittently with a shot or 2.  Ref stands them up and Jabouin lands another huge body shot followed by a head kick.  I’m really surprised Hougland has survived this long and it looks like he’ll make it out…but not before eating some big elbows from Jabouin as the fight ends.  Hougland just took a ruthless beating like a man.  Jabouin is a bad little man.  Some may call him EXPLOSIVE!

Unanimous Decision win for Yves Jabouin

Donald Cerrone VS. Jeremy Stephens

Round 1– I won’t lie…I’m a little moist for this fight.  How will Cerrone respond after the loss to Diaz?  Stephens won’t let him off easy.  And here, we, go.  No touch of the gloves.  Cerrone’s reach advantage is apparent from the get go.  Cerrone lands a good inside leg kick.  Then a huge outside leg kick.  Stephens is coming up short on his combos so far and Cerrone continues with the one-two combo followed by the leg kick.  Stephens having a hard time getting to Cerrone and Cerrone is having success with most of his combos.  Cerrone with a glancing head kick, then a knee and 3 punch combo.  Cerrone looking much more technical and opens up a cut over Stephens’ right eye.  Cerrone getting crafty throwing a Jon Jonesish elbow.  Cerrone taunting Stephens now which seems to piss Stephens off.  Huge leg kick to end the round for Cerrone. Stephens better figure something else out.  Cerrone is picking him apart.

Round 2– Now they touch gloves.  Cerrone goes right back to the inside leg kick.  Stephens’ punches still coming up short.  Cerrone landing vicious leg kicks and seems very confident.  Throwing every strike he can think of.  Stephens seems hurt and Cerrone just goes back to the leg.  Cerrone doing an Irish jig followed by more kicks and stiff jabs.  Cerrone clowning Stephens now and avoiding everything Stephens throws.  Stephens’ left eye looks like hammered shit.  I doubt he can see.  This is getting bad.  Cerrone buckles Stephens with another hard leg kick.  Now inside leg kick followed by a takedown.  Stephens gets up at the bell.

Round 3– Cerrone kicks Stephens directly in the balls.  Sounded pretty awful.  Like shooting a shotgun into a pillow.  Stephens takes it and is back up.  Cerrone with his same combo that he’s been landing at will.  Stephens still not backing down though.  Stephens lands a glancing knee but Cerrone follows with a knee to the body.  Cerrone throws a leg kick that drops Stephens…more knocking him off balance than anything.  More leg kicks, rinse, repeat.  Cerrone is just too good at everything at this point.  Stephens lands a nice left hook but Cerrone doesn’t even flinch.  Cerrone getting very lax though.  Needs to be careful.  Cerrone going to the body with the kicks now.  Its just a leg kick bonanza up in this bitch.  Cerrone just coasting now and that’s it.  Lopsided beatdown via Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

Donald Cerrone your winner by Unanimous Decision

Amir Sadollah VS Jorge Lopez

Round 1– Lopez looks like a tank.  You can see his power right away as he counters Sadollah’s punches.  They trade leg kicks then clinch against the cage.  Lopez controlling Sadollah but not much action.  They break and Lopez throws a series of stiff jabs.  Sadollah misses with a kick and Lopez lands a leg kick.  Now Lopez goes for a single leg.  Lifts Sadollah off the ground and drops him for a takedown.  Sadollah posting up against the cage and Lopez working for a standing kimura.  And he lets it go.  Now Sadollah working for a takedown.  Lopez isn’t having it and they clinch until the end of the round.

Round 2– Sadollah rushes forward and Lopez ties him up.  Lopez trying hard for the takedown but is having no luck.  Crowd getting antsy because this shit is boring.  Nothing to report.  Lopez trying for another single and Sadollah trying to work in a guillotine.  He sinks it and they drop down into a scramble.  Lopez pops free and now is trying for a double against the cage.  Now they break.  Sadollah lands a couple good kicks to the body as Lopez backs up.  Lopez looks tired and Sadollah seems to sense it.  Sadollah throws a sloppy kick and gets taken down.  There goes that momentum.  And the round ends.

Round 3– Lopez ties Sadollah up against the cage again and is trying for another single.  Sadollah trying for the guillotine again.  Deja vu.  Sadollah counters and gets Lopez against the cage.  And the break.  Lopez taking big breaths now.  Sadollah landing some decent shots but now Lopez ties him up…again going for the single.  Sorry I think I just dozed off.  Lopez gets a takedown but isn’t doing anything.  If ever a standup was needed….oh there we go.  Now they’re throwing down.  Sadollah misses with a flying knee and now we’re in the same position.  Sadollah fighting off the TD and lands a good knee right before the bell.  For every good fight there is an equal opposite shitty fight.

Amir Sadollah your winner by split decision

Chan Sung Jung VS. Dustin Poirier

Round 1– Some tasty Featherweight action about to go down.  Poirier is a god damn animal and I have a feeling the Korean Zombie is about to get fed his ass.  Luckily I have the ability to edit this portion of the commentary in case I’m way off. Tan Dan is looking particularly orange tonight.  And they touch gloves.  They’re both throwing heat…no feeling out process.  Zombie gets a takedown but Poirier gets up and goes for a single.  Now they’re clinching against the cage with Poirier doing the pushing.  Zombie with a great greco takedown and he’s in Poirier’s full guard.  Zombie throwing good elbows and Poirier is cut on his forehead.  Zombie looking strong in top position.  Poirier lands a good upkick and reverses position.  Poirier lands in Zombie’s full guard and now Zombie is trying to wall walk up to his feet.  Poirier controlling him against the cage but not much action. Back to their feet.  Porier lands a good knee and now they’re throwing bombs.  Nothing lands and the round ends.

Round 2– I just accidentally erased my whole round 2…the best round of the night.  So I had to rewind and here I am.  Let me just say that Poirier was almost tapped multiple times and the Zombie transitioned from arm bar to triangle and back multiple times.

Round 3- Fuck I can’t believe I just erased all of that glorious work.  Poirier lands a good shot and now their trading  bombs.  Most of them are missing and they both look pretty tired.  Zombie eats a good straight left and a leg kick.  Poirier starting to land some clean shots.  Zombie living up to his name doesn’t seem to care.  Huge takedown by Zombie and Poirier ends up standing up.  Both guys landing good shots but Zombie doesn’t seem to mind it.  Zombie landing the better strikes but Poirier not giving up.  Both guys using their faces to block punches.  Round ends like a scene from Road house.

Round 4– Both guys throwing sloppy shots.  Zombie land a one-two followed by a huge flying knee.  Poirier in trouble in the d’arce choke.  And that’s it!  What a finish.  Korean Zombie by d’arce choke in a dominating performance.

Korean Zombie wins by D’arce choke at 1:07 of round number 4

And, good night

Gambling Addiction Enabler: Zombie vs. Poirier Edition


(I’ll show you Linsanity, you racist sonofabitch!) 

Perhaps it’s because we are truly spontaneous creatures at heart, but we are more excited for tomorrow night’s UFC on FUEL broadcast than perhaps any other free card in as long as we can remember, if only because it gives us an excuse to do something on a Tuesday night that we normally save for the weekends ie. drink, shout at the TV until our ears bleed, and gamble away the money we have yet to even earn. And since we don’t want to be the only MMA fans waiting in line at the soup kitchen come next week, we figured we’d drag you all down with us. Because, honestly, it’s neither as easy or as fun to start a soup fight with the homeless by yourself. Anyway, check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for our more-or-less comprehensible advice.

MAIN CARD (FUEL TV)
Chan Sung Jung (+270) vs. Dustin Poirier (-330)
Amir Sadollah (-185) vs. Jorge Lopez (+160)
Donald Cerrone (-255) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+215)
Yves Jabouin (-235) vs. Jeff Hougland (+195)
Igor Pokrajac (+145) vs. Fabio Maldonado (-165)
Jason MacDonald (+200) vs. Tom Lawlor (-240)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Fuel.tv, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT)
Cody McKenzie (-105) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (-115)
Brad Tavares (-175) vs. Dongi Yang (+155)
T.J. Grant (-400) vs. Carlo Prater (+325)
Rafael Dos Anjos (-280) vs. Kamal Shalorus (+240)
Jeff Curran (-135) vs. Johnny Eduardo (+115)
Alex Soto (+200) vs. Francisco Rivera (-240)

Thoughts…


(I’ll show you Linsanity, you racist sonofabitch!) 

Perhaps it’s because we are truly spontaneous creatures at heart, but we are more excited for tomorrow night’s UFC on FUEL broadcast than perhaps any other free card in as long as we can remember, if only because it gives us an excuse to do something on a Tuesday night that we normally save for the weekends ie. drink, shout at the TV until our ears bleed, and gamble away the money we have yet to even earn. And since we don’t want to be the only MMA fans waiting in line at the soup kitchen come next week, we figured we’d drag you all down with us. Because, honestly, it’s neither as easy or as fun to start a soup fight with the homeless by yourself. Anyway, check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for our more-or-less comprehensible advice.

MAIN CARD (FUEL TV)
Chan Sung Jung (+270) vs. Dustin Poirier (-330)
Amir Sadollah (-185) vs. Jorge Lopez (+160)
Donald Cerrone (-255) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+215)
Yves Jabouin (-235) vs. Jeff Hougland (+195)
Igor Pokrajac (+145) vs. Fabio Maldonado (-165)
Jason MacDonald (+200) vs. Tom Lawlor (-240)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Fuel.tv, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT)
Cody McKenzie (-105) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (-115)
Brad Tavares (-175) vs. Dongi Yang (+155)
T.J. Grant (-400) vs. Carlo Prater (+325)
Rafael Dos Anjos (-280) vs. Kamal Shalorus (+240)
Jeff Curran (-135) vs. Johnny Eduardo (+115)
Alex Soto (+200) vs. Francisco Rivera (-240)

Thoughts…

The Main Event: Don’t let your love for all things zombie apocalypse fool you; come tomorrow night, Dustin Poirier will become the clear cut number one contender at 145, whatever that means. Although he and Chan Sung Jung are incredibly similar on paper, in that they are both well versed in submissions yet prefer to stand and trade, Poirier hasn’t even so much as wobbled in his Zuffa career aside from his loss to Danny Castillo nearly two years ago. And not to take anything away from Jung, but his two most recent victories, though impressive, have come over a guy who would be on a five fight losing streak if not for the general incompetence of MMA and another guy who has fallen from number one contender to undercard fodder in just under a year. Poirier is bigger, stronger, and packs the mix of power and aggression that will not let up until Jung is flat on his back. Granted, we also said Hominick would steamroll Jung, only to made fools of shortly thereafter, so perhaps we should stop counting “The Korean Zombie” out. Starting….next time.

The Good Dogs: Sheesh, the betting lines on this card make us yearn for the days of PRIDE freak shows ala Cro Cop vs. Dos Caras Jr, where big risk at least gave us the outside hope of reaping a big reward. Looking over the main card, the only underdog bet that stands out has got to be Jason MacDonald. Though he’s never been one for consistency, and is coming off a submission to strikes loss at the hands of Alan Belcher, the fact that he’s trying to earn a retirement fight at UFC 149 in Canada has to mean something in terms of an X-factor, right? I mean, the man he is fighting came to the weigh-ins dressed as another fighter dressed as a guitar player for Christ’s sake. No self respecting man wants to get his ass kicked by the class clown on his way out the door.

You may be wondering why we’ve kind of brushed off Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens, but the fact that Stephens has lost to every single upper echelon fighter he has faced should let you know how we feel about the outcome of that one. We love you, Lil’ Heathen, but we also believe that history tends to repeat itself.

The Easy Bet: Fabio Maldonado. The dude is an absolute beast who will walk through Pokrajac’s punches with a smile on his face, as is his M.O., before delivering a beautiful body shot KO that voids “The Duke’s” bowels upon impact.

Official CagePotato parlay: Poirier + Cerrone + Maldonado + Curran

Suggested stake for a $50 wager 
$20 on the parlay
$10 on MacDonald
$5 on McKenzie to keep shit real
$15 on a 12-pack of Budweiser Platinum to make sure it stays that way

-J. Jones

UFC on Fuel TV 3: Pre Fight Analysis Part I (Dustin Poirier (12-1-0) vs Chan Sung Jung (12-3-0)

Dustin Poirier (12-1-0) vs Chan Sung Jung (12-3-0) Chan Sung Jung (aka The Korean Zombie) has quickly risen to the top of the list of MMA fan favorites. His attacking style lends itself to exciting.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dustin Poirier (12-1-0) vs Chan Sung Jung (12-3-0)

Chan Sung Jung (aka The Korean Zombie) has quickly risen to the top of the list of MMA fan favorites. His attacking style lends itself to exciting fights and the finishes fans have come to expect from the sport. Beginning with his fights in Korea and Japan, global MMA fans watched him ascend from obscurity to mainstream popularity in just two years and he is now established as a headliner on a card that also features a former Ultimate Fighter winner in Amir Sadollah and one of the best 155 pound fighters in the world in Donald Cerrone. The question with Jung is whether his popularity has outpaced his skill level. The oddsmakers have Poirier as a solid favorite at -321 and any reasonable observer would have to agree that the line is right where it should be. But this is where one begins to run into problems when trying to breakdown an enigma like Jung.

Since he has come to the United States, he has engaged in one of the greatest fights in MMA history with Leonard Garcia, lost to George Roop via spectacular head kick knockout, beat Leonard Garcia and earned submission of the year with the first ever Twister in the UFC and knocked out Mark Hominick in seven seconds on his first punch of the night. Presented with just that information, one would wonder why he isn’t favored in this fight. The problem is that the reality of what took place in those fights is less exciting than the myth of the Korean Zombie. Leonard Garcia is one of the toughest, most entertaining fighters in the world at any weight class. He would fight Godzilla if someone would sanction it. And even if the scouting report said Godzilla had no ground game, Garcia would stand and throw haymakers until he got eaten. But he’s a mid-level opponent and beating him twice (which Jung did regardless of what the judges claimed to have seen in the first fight) doesn’t put a fighter in the upper echelon. The fight with Mark Hominick is even more misleading. What kind of conclusions can be drawn from a seven second fight? If Jung and Hominick were to fight 1000 times, how many times does the fight end that way? As exciting as it was, we didn’t learn anything from that fight. Add in the fact that George Roop clearly outstruck him in and knocked him out early in the second round and things get even more confusing. Who is Chan Sung Jung? Is he a mid level fighter with a knack for entertaining the fans or is he an upper echelon fighter who’s knockout of Hominick is a precursor of things to come? This fight should bring us closer to answering that question.

Dustin Poirier is one of the best young prospects in the 145 pound weight class. He has future title contender potential and this is his first opportunity to take a major step forward in marketability. He has the skills in every area to be great. Since coming to the UFC, he has improved with every fight. He beat the highly regarded Josh Grispi via unanimous decision, performed the same feat against Jason Young, submitted Pablo Garza via brabo choke and submitted Max Holloway via mounted triangle armbar. In his first two fights in the UFC, he controlled his opponents and clearly won the fights but his last two fights have been even more impressive with finishes that show his submission game is evolving rapidly. He clearly outclassed Garza in every aspect of the fight and when Garza failed to recognize the choke attempt in the second round, Poirier finished him quickly. He showed continued growth in the Holloway fight as he once again dominated and showed high level ground transitions in moving from an armbar to a triangle to a mounted triangle to a mounted triangle armbar. Holloway did not submit easily but Poirier would not be denied and once again, proved himself to be a level above his opponent.

This fight gives both fighters the opportunity they need. If Jung wins this fight, he will have to be considered as one of the top fighters in the weight class and might earn a title shot depending on what happens with the rest of the division. Hominick just fought for the title and Poirier is widely considered to be a top ten talent so back to back wins over those two might be enough to get what no one else at 145 seems to want, which is a title fight with Jose Aldo. Poirier likely has the same opportunity. Although his hit list would be less impressive than Jung’s, he has title level talent and if no one else is willing to fight Aldo, he could get his chance earlier than expected.

The line on this fight at the time of writing this article has Poirier favored at -321 with Jung the underdog at +279. That seems about right as Poirier clearly has the pedigree and talent advantage. But nobody thought Jung had a chance against Hominick and that fight ended with one punch. I expect Poirier to control the fight and win a unanimous decision but Jung has a habit of making measurables like pedigree and talent irrelevant. Can he do it again? We’ll find out on Tuesday night.

-Alan Wells

‘UFC on FUEL 3: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier’ Weigh-In Results; Watch Live at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC on FUEL TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier goes down tomorrow night at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, and the weigh-ins are scheduled for today at 4 p.m. ET. You can watch the hot feet-on-scale action in the player above. Though we don’t foresee any hat-smacking or face-squishing, Tom Lawlor did promise to arrive with the most obscure MMA reference in UFC weigh-in history, so there’s that. The full UFC on FUEL 3 fight card is after the jump, which we’ll update with weigh-in totals later today. Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow evening for our liveblog of the FUEL main card broadcast, which kicks off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.


(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC on FUEL TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier goes down tomorrow night at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, and the weigh-ins are scheduled for today at 4 p.m. ET. You can watch the hot feet-on-scale action in the player above. Though we don’t foresee any hat-smacking or face-squishing, Tom Lawlor did promise to arrive with the most obscure MMA reference in UFC weigh-in history, so there’s that. The full UFC on FUEL 3 fight card is after the jump, which we’ll update with weigh-in totals later today. Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow evening for our liveblog of the FUEL main card broadcast, which kicks off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

MAIN CARD (FUEL TV)
Chan Sung Jung () vs. Dustin Poirier ()
Amir Sadollah () vs. Jorge Lopez ()
Donald Cerrone () vs. Jeremy Stephens ()
Yves Jabouin () vs. Jeff Hougland ()
Igor Pokrajac () vs. Fabio Maldonado ()
Jason MacDonald () vs. Tom Lawlor ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (Fuel.tv, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT)
Cody McKenzie () vs. Marcus LeVesseur ()
Brad Tavares () vs. Dongi Yang ()
T.J. Grant () vs. Carlo Prater ()
Rafael Dos Anjos () vs. Kamal Shalorus ()
Jeff Curran () vs. Johnny Eduardo ()
Alex Soto () vs. Francisco Rivera ()

Zombie vs. Poirier Fight-Picking Contest: Win TrauMMA’s Korean Zombie Shirt or the No Mas Fightville Tee!


(Shirt image via TrauMMACombat.com)

In honor of Chan Sung Jung‘s upcoming fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL 3 on Tuesday, TrauMMA Combat Apparel has released a brand-new “Korean Zombie” t-shirt that you can buy right here for $29.99. But we know that thirty bucks is hard to come by in this economy, so how ’bout we give you a chance to win one for free?

You know how this works: Submit your prediction for the Zombie vs. Poirier main event in the comments section below by Monday night at midnight ET, including the winner, method of victory, and time/round of stoppage (if applicable). No need to include judges’ scores if you’re predicting a decision, but for the purposes of a tie-breaker, please include which end-of-night bonus you think the fight will win, if you think it’ll be bonus-worthy. Your entry should look like this…

Jung def. Poirier via split-decision [Fight of the Night]
or
Poirier def. Jung via submission (triangle choke), 3:54 of round 2 [Submission of the Night]
or
Jung def. Poirier via TKO, 1:59 of round 3 [no bonus]

And there’s just one more twist…


(Shirt image via TrauMMACombat.com)

In honor of Chan Sung Jung‘s upcoming fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL 3 on Tuesday, TrauMMA Combat Apparel has released a brand-new “Korean Zombie” t-shirt that you can buy right here for $29.99. But we know that thirty bucks is hard to come by in this economy, so how ’bout we give you a chance to win one for free?

You know how this works: Submit your prediction for the Zombie vs. Poirier main event in the comments section below by Monday night at midnight ET, including the winner, method of victory, and time/round of stoppage (if applicable). No need to include judges’ scores if you’re predicting a decision, but for the purposes of a tie-breaker, please include which end-of-night bonus you think the fight will win, if you think it’ll be bonus-worthy. Your entry should look like this…

Jung def. Poirier via split-decision [Fight of the Night]
or
Poirier def. Jung via submission (triangle choke), 3:54 of round 2 [Submission of the Night]
or
Jung def. Poirier via TKO, 1:59 of round 3 [no bonus]

And there’s just one more twist…

The two closest guesses will win shirts. If you predict a victory for the Korean Zombie and you’re one of the winners, you’ll be getting TrauMMA’s Korean Zombie tee. If you predict a victory for Dustin Poirier and he wins, you’ll be getting No Mas’s super-rad Fightville tee.

…and if you correctly predict a draw, you’ll win both shirts. Make sense? Holler if you have any questions, and happy pickin’.

Related: ‘UFC on FUEL 3′ Promo: Dustin Poirier vs. The Zombie Apocalypse