UFC Busan results: Korean Zombie throttles Frankie Edgar en route to knockout finish

The Korean Zombie made a massive statement in front of his home country, scoring a brutally impressive finish of former champion Frankie Edgar at UFC Busan.

It took Chan Sung Jung less than a round to dismantle Edgar and force a TKO stoppage.

Jung let his strategy be known from the opening bell. He quickly took a huge swing at Edgar, as their UFC on ESPN+ 23 fight got underway on Saturday in Busan, South Korea.

Though Jung missed with that opening punch, he quickly found a home for several follow-ups. Edgar tried to stay on the outside edge of Jung’s punches, trying to nullify his reach advantage by darting in and out. 

Little more than a minute into the first round, Jung staggered Edgar with a hard punch combination. He kept punching and sent Edgar to the canvas. 

Jung immediately followed and threw several more punches, but Edgar somehow dug deep and survived that initial onslaught. 

The Korean Zombie was relentless, quickly moving to take Edgar’s back and flattening him, face down on the canvas. Jung unloaded with punches, but each time the referee made a move to step in, Edgar did just enough to survive.

Edgar eventually slipped out the back door and regained his feet, but that only served to give Jung a clearer target. He took full advantage, landing several more shots that returned Edgar to the canvas, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Jung is now 3-1 in the Octagon since returning from his mandatory military service in South Korea. With the win over Edgar, he believes he’s ready for the top of the division, calling out newly minted champion Alexander Volkanovski after the fight.

“I want Volkanovski.”

Foregoing his bantamweight debut, Edgar took this featherweight fight on short notice in order to give Jung a high profile opponent to keep him in the card’s main event after original opponent Brian Ortega dropped out because of an injury.

Now having lost to four of the top featherweights in the world, Edgar’s future, more than ever, appears to be at bantamweight should the 38-year-old former champion continue fighting.

Volkan Oezdemir leg kicks his way to victory

Volkan Oezdemir kept his name among the title contenders with a hard fought decision win over Aleksander Rakic in South Korea.

Rakic was looking to keep his undefeated record intact, but he spent the majority of the fight searching for a knockout blow that never came. Meanwhile, Oezdemir attacked Rakic’s lead leg with a relentless onslaught of kicks that created a grotesque swelling on his shin in the second round. 

As the fight wore on, Rakic attempted several takedowns, but Oezdemir did a good job rebuffing him.

While Rakic seemed to be slightly ahead in the punching game, he didn’t do near the damage Oezdemir did with his leg kicks. After three full rounds, two of the three judges scored the bout in Oezdemir’s favor, handing him the split decision victory.

(Photo courtesy of UFC)

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UFC on ESPN+ 23: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie results

Main Card

• Chan Sung Jung def. Frankie Edgar by TKO (punches) at 3:18, R1
• Volkan Oezdemir def. Aleksandar Rakić by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Charles Jourdain def. Doo Ho Choi by TKO (punches) at 4:32, R2
• Da Un Jung def. Mike Rodriguez by knockout (punches) at 1:04, R1
• Jun Yong Park def. Marc-André Barriault  by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Kyung Ho Kang def. Liu Pingyuan by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Prelims

• Ciryl Gane def. Tanner Boser by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Seung Woo Choi def. Suman Mokhtarian by unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-25)
• Omar Morales def. Dong Hyun Ma by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
• Alexandre Pantoja def. Matt Schnell by knockout (punches) at 4:17, R1
• Raoni Barcelos def. Said Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Amanda Lemos def. Miranda Granger by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:43, R1
• Heili Alateng def. Ryan Benoit by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)