A pair of former UFC title challengers will collide on Fight Island on Saturday night as Brian Ortega takes on Chan Sung Jung, also known as the Korean Zombie, at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Dana White says the winner of this bout will receive the next shot at Alexander Volkanovski‘s featherweight title.
Ortega (14-1) returns to the Octagon for the first time since a failed title bid at UFC 231 nearly two years ago. He was easily defeated by then-champion Max Holloway at that event, and while making his comeback he suffered a partial ACL tear that sidelined him further. Jung (16-5) will look to solidify his second shot at a UFC championship. He fought Jose Aldo for the 145-pound title back in 2013.
This fight is filled with bad blood and a saga that escalated earlier this year at UFC 248. After a number of false starts, we finally will get to see these two go at it with incredibly high stakes on the line.
Saturday night’s card, which will air exclusively on ESPN+, also features former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (20-8) making her UFC flyweight debut against Katlyn Chookagian (14-3). Andrade will become just the second female fighter in UFC history to fight in three divisions, joining Valerie Letourneau. Chookagian is No. 3 in the ESPN women’s flyweight rankings, while Andrade is ranked fourth at strawweight.
Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim recap the action as it happens.
Fight in progress:
Men’s bantamweight: Mark Striegl (18-2, 0-0 UFC, +330) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (13-2, 2-1 UFC, -410)
Still to come:
Men’s featherweight: Brian Ortega (14-1 1 NC, 7-1 1 NC UFC, +175) vs. Chan Sung Jung (16-5, 6-2 UFC, -200)
Women’s flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (14-3, 7-3 UFC, +125) vs. Jéssica Andrade (20-8, 11-6 UFC, -145)
Light heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (11-1, 3-1 UFC, -320) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (11-2, 1-0 UFC, +260)
Welterweight: Cláudio Silva (14-1, 5-0 UFC, +130) vs. James Krause (27-9, 8-4 UFC, -150)
Men’s featherweight: Thomas Almeida (22-3, 5-3 UFC, -135) vs. Jonathan Martinez (12-3, 3-2 UFC, +115)
Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot (17-0, 0-0 UFC, -300) vs. Guram Kutateladze (11-2, 0-0 UFC, +250)
Women’s flyweight: Gillian Robertson (8-4, 5-2 UFC, -210) vs. Poliana Botelho (8-2, 3-1 UFC, +180)
Middleweight: John Phillips (22-10, 1-4 UFC, +230) vs. Jun Yong Park (11-4, 1-1 UFC, -270)
Lightweight: Jamie Mullarkey (12-3, 0-1 UFC, -145) vs. Fares Ziam (10-3, 0-1 UFC, +125)
Light heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-7, 2-3 UFC, +290) vs. Maxim Grishin (30-8-2, 0-1 UFC, -360)