Five of the seven preliminary card fights on UFC FIGHT NIGHT: HOLLOWAY vs. THE KOREAN ZOMBIE ended inside the distance, with four being halted in the opening stanza, and while the finishing rate declined on the main card, the level of technique, execution, and skill rose.
It was an outstanding slate on paper and even better in reality, and we’ve got all the details on what happened here.
Main event scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds. | Official Scorecards
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs The Korean Zombie Results
- Max Holloway defeats Chan Sung Jung by KO (right hand) at 0:23 of Round 3
- Anthony Smith (29-28, 29-28) defeats Ryan Spann (29-28) by split decision
- Giga Chikadze defeats Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Rinya Nakamura defeats Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Erin Blanchfield defeats Taila Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Junior Tafa defeats Parker Porter by KO (strikes) at 1:24 of Round 1
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Lukasz Brzeski by KO (right hand) at 3:01 of Round 1
- Garrett Armfield defeats Toshiomi Kazama by TKO (right hand) at 4:16 of Round 1
- Michal Oleksiejczuk defeats Chidi Njokuani by TKO (strikes) at 4:16 of Round 1
- Song Kenan defeats Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Billy Goff defeats Yusaku Kinoshita by TKO (body shot) at 3:49 of Round 1
- JJ Aldrich defeats Liang Na by TKO (strikes) at 4:49 of Round 2
- SeungWoo Choi defeats Jarno Errens by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Please enable Javascript to view this content
SeungWoo Choi defeats Jarno Errens by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweights SeungWoo Choi and Jarno Errens were tasked with opening the show and the duo delivered, pairing up for an entertaining scrap to kick things off in Singapore.
Choi got the better of things in the opening stanza, landing the better shots overall and hurting Errens in space at one point. The Dutch sophomore battled back in the second, dropping Choi with a well-placed uppercut, leaving the outcome hinged on how things played out in the third.
In that final frame, Choi’s speed and precision ruled the day, as he countered well and again landed the cleaner punches before chopping Errens’ lead leg out from under him and finishing the fight chasing a finish from back mount.
The judges were tasked with delivering the official verdict and all three saw it the same, awarding the fight to Choi. With the victory, the South Korean snaps a three-fight skid inside the Octagon, moving to 11-6 overall in the process. | Official Scorecards
JJ Aldrich defeats Liang Na by TKO (strikes) at 4:49 of Round 2
The veteran savvy of JJ Aldrich ruled the day in her matchup with Liang Na.
In the striking exchanges, the American consistently landed the more telling blows, countering Liang as she pressed forward with too much aggression.
While the Chinese fighter had solid entries and moments in the grappling interactions, Aldrich was able to either work back to her feet or get herself to an advantageous position.
After working to mount midway through the second frame, Aldrich switched off from searching for submission openings to start dropping heavy shots, flattening Liang out and pounding out the finish.
The win snaps a two-fight skid for Aldrich, who picks up the first stoppage victory of her UFC career in the process. | Official Scorecards
Billy Goff defeats Yusaku Kinoshita by TKO (body shot) at 3:49 of Round 1
Apparently Billy Goff just needs to get touched up a little before waking up and finding success.
Finally making his promotional debut after earning a contract last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, Goff was getting pieced up and countered by Yusaku Kinoshita to start their welterweight encounter.
But late in the opening frame, the debuting fighter pressed forward and connected with a right hand to the solar plexus that dropped Kinoshita in his tracks.
Just a gutsy, come-from-behind effort from Goff, who moved to 9-2 with the victory and runs his winning streak to seven with a tremendous finish in Singapore. | Official Scorecards
Song Kenan defeats Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
As expected, Song Kenan and Rolando Bedoya paired off to deliver an entertaining back-and-forth in the middle of Saturday’s prelims.
The sophomore from Peru started well, picking up where he left off in his impressive debut opposite Khaos Williams. But Song found his range and his rhythm in the second, stinging Bedoya a time or two, drawing level and leaving everything resting on the third round.
In the final frame, Bedoya came out quickly, throwing the greater volume, while Song was more selective, but landing with greater force, as he stunned and sat down Bedoya to seemingly salt things away.
It was left to the judges to decide and when the scores were tallied, all three officials saw it the same way, awarding Song the unanimous decision victory. That’s now 20 career wins for the 33-year-old Chinese fighter, who snapped a two-fight skid with the triumphant effort in Singapore on Saturday. | Official Scorecards
Michal Oleksiejczuk defeats Chidi Njokuani by TKO (strikes) at 4:16 of Round 1
Michal Oleksiejczuk seemed on the brink of getting finished, but instead, he was the one to collect the opening round victory.
The Polish middleweight went shot-for-shot with Chidi Njokuani, eating a bevy of big shots that clearly had him hurt, only for the 28-year-old to weather the storm and return fire.
His signature body work started to turn the tables and once Njokuani looked to shoot late in the first, you knew he was fading, which prompted Oleksiejczuk to settle into top position and unload, forcing referee Thomas Fann to halt the action.
Now 3-1 since moving to middleweight, “Hussar” is certainly proving to be must-see TV each and every time he steps into the Octagon, as six of of his seven UFC victories have come in the opening round. | Official Scorecards
Garrett Armfield defeats Toshiomi Kazama by TKO (right hand) at 4:16 of Round 1
Just a great showing from Garrett Armfield in his return to the bantamweight division.
After debuting up a division on incredibly short notice, Armfield finally made his second trip into the Octagon on Saturday, returning to the 135-pound weight class and boxing up Toshiomi Kazama. He was calm, precise, and powerful, finally ending things with a clean right hand down the pipe.
Tremendous effort from Armfield, who maintains his perfect finishing rate, registering his first UFC victory and ninth stoppage win in a dozen starts with his beautiful effort in Singapore. | Official Scorecards
Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Lukasz Brzeski by KO (right hand) at 3:01 of Round 1
How about a walk-off knockout to wrap up the prelims?
Waldo Cortes-Acosta put a right hand on the jaw of Lukas Brzeski that short-circuited his central processing system, sending him staggering forward on shaky legs, prompting “Salsa Boy” to chase him down and land another clean right hand behind the ear that put Brzeski down for good.
This was an outstanding bounce back effort for Cortes-Acosta, who dropped a decision to Marcos Rogerio de Lima last time out. Now 3-1 in the UFC, the former baseball prospect is going to be a handful if he keeps throwing smoke like he did on Saturday night in Singapore. | Official Scorecards
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs The Korean Zombie Main Card Fight Results
Junior Tafa defeats Parker Porter by KO (strikes) at 1:24 of Round 1
Justin Tafa followed his older brother’s blueprint on Saturday, registering a first-round stoppage win over Parker Porter to collect his first UFC victory.
“The Juggernaut” refused to allow Porter to grapple, stinging him in space early before wobbling him with a knee to the head. Porter survived and looked for a takedown, but Tafa defended well, created space, and banged home another right hand that brought the fight to a halt.
An outstanding effort from the 26-year-old heavyweight prospect, who moves to 5-1 with the victory and gets things moving in the right direction again after dropping his debut earlier this year. | Official Scorecards
Erin Blanchfield defeats Taila Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
The battle between top-ranked flyweights Erin Blanchfield and Taila Santos was every bit as good as advertised.
Santos started quickly, her speed and power advantage allowing her to claim the opening round as she forced Blanchfield to fight in space and stung her with high impact shots. In the second, the American was able to land some hands of her own while bringing the fight to the canvas, neutralizing the former title challenger’s offensive weapons.
The conditioning of Blanchfield held up better and allowed her to keep pressing forward in the third, as her relentlessness allowed her to land solid shots in close and keep Santos from having much success down the stretch.
After a gruelling, competitive 15 minutes, the judges were tasked with determining a victor, and all three saw it the same way, awarding the final two rounds and the fight to Blanchfield. With the win, the 24-year-old moves to 6-0 in the UFC and 12-1 overall, cementing her status as the top contender in the flyweight division. | Official Scorecards
Rinya Nakamura defeats Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Rinya Nakamura continues to shine, registering his second straight UFC victory on Saturday with a unanimous decision win over Fernie Garcia.
The Road to UFC bantamweight winner showed his wrestling dominance in the first, twisting Garcia to the canvas and keeping him there for the duration, threatening with a north-south choke and landing heavy strikes through to the horn. In the second, he got the better of the striking exchanges before depositing Garcia back on the canvas, working to a crucifix position before attacking a straight armbar, which the Fortis MMA representative escaped.
Garcia started well in the third, but an untimely slip allowed Nakamura to bring the fight back to the ground, where he continued to dominate through to the final horn.
Now 8-0 as a professional in just over two years, the 28-year-old Japanese fighter is clearly a star on the rise. His hands continue to develop and his grappling is outstanding, so it will be interesting to see how Nakamura continues to progress and what’s next for him after a second straight win. | Official Scorecards
Giga Chikadze defeats Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Life-long martial artists Giga Chikadze and Alex Caceres paired off in an entertaining striking match on Saturday’s main card, with the Georgian returning the Octagon and the win column.
The entire fight was contested at range, with both men offering kicks to all levels and driving home long, straight punches, with Caceres holding the speed advantage, but Chikadze landing with more demonstrative force. Neither man slowed down and neither gave an inch — they just met in the center and continued to trade blows, clearly enjoying the competitive back-and-forth battle through to the end.
When the scores were collected and totaled, Chikadze came out ahead, registering his eighth win in nine UFC appearances to re-establish himself as a Top 10 presence in the featherweight division. | Official Scorecards
Anthony Smith (29-28, 29-28) defeats Ryan Spann (29-28) by split decision
Anthony Smith turned in a gutsy effort to return to the win column with a hard-fought split decision win over Ryan Spann.
The two men, who fought two years ago, with Smith earning a first-round submission win, were more patient and measured in the opening stanza, with Smith having success with low kicks and Spann taking his time while landing the occasional clean shot of his own.
In the second, a swinging left hook landed flush with Smith’s left eye and sent him backing up to the fence, with Spann swarming in search of the finish. “Lionheart” was true to his name and survived to the end of the round, with the light heavyweight rivals running close over the final five minutes.
It surprisingly went the distance, leaving it to the judges to sort out. When the scores were added up and read aloud, it was Smith that came away on the happy side of the split decision verdict, snapping a two-fight slide in the process. | Official Scorecards
Max Holloway defeats The Korean Zombie by KO (right hand) at 0:23 of Round 3
Max Holloway continues to dominate non-title matchups in the featherweight division, earning a second 2023 victory and 12th consecutive non-title win, dispatching “The Korean Zombie” Chang Sung Jung to close out the UFC’s return to Singapore.
Both men had their moments in the first, connecting with heavy shots that backed the other up, but the more the fight progressed, the more Holloway took over. He hurt Jung with a right hand to the temple in the second, chasing a submission finish that didn’t materialize, and when the South Korean veteran came out guns blazing to start the third, “Blessed” found the counter right that put him out.
This was a wildly entertaining clash between two of the longest tenured fighters in the division, and another reminder that Holloway is still a force in the featherweight ranks. | Official Scorecards
