Our final event of 2019 is coming to us from South Korea, headlined by everyone’s favorite slugger Chan Sung Jung, The Korean Zombie. He will be taking on Frankie Edgar after Brian Ortega suffered an ACL tear.

There are heaps of solid betting options for this one, so get in on these lines early!

Chan Sung Jung vs. Frankie Edgar (FTW)

When you’re on a card with The Korean Zombie (15-5, 5-2 UFC) your chances of a FOTN bonus go wayyyy down. In typical zombie fashion, Jung marches forward and can eat any shot and keep on swinging. If you watch his fight at first, it may seem he might just be mindlessly plodding forward without any game plan. In fact, Zombie has good fight IQ and knows which shots are the best for him. He has powerful hands and impressive jiu-jitsu, securing 8 of his pro wins by submission.

Longtime veteran Frankie Edgar (23-7-1, 17-7-1 UFC) will step in short notice in what is stated to be his final Featherweight match. “The Answer” meshes striking with his wrestling game to tire his opponent and wear them down. His gameplan is best when he can execute his wrestling and not have to worry about a counter-threat from his opponent, but he also has a dominant volume with his strikes.

I don’t like Frankie’s chances here. Sure, he has solid wrestling and striking, but he simply doesn’t have the finishing threat to take out most fighters, much less the seemingly unbreakable Zombie. Chan has too much power and submission skill for Frankie to impose a long-winded gameplan and the pressure Zombie imposes is sure to only make that more difficult.

Take the Shot: Chan Sung Jung via Round 3 Knockout 

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Aleksander Rakic (LHW)

Volkan Oezdemir (16-4, 4-3 UFC) got rushed into a title shot in an odd, albeit entertaining fashion. Oezdemir is an absolute monster in the pocket and has the power to put the lights out with one punch. His two knockouts over Manuwa and Cirkunov were both under a minute and displayed his absolutely insane power. You don’t get the nickname “No Time” for nothing. He can generate ridiculous power from what seems like the smallest of shots. Oezdemir’s struggle has always been his cardio but with his recent match with Dominick Reyes (which was a robbery), he has shown considerable improvement in that area.

The issue is that his opponent Aleksander Rakic (12-1, 4-0 UFC) is also a power puncher. He may not always have the one-shot punch, but he has crisp striking and a good frame for the division. Rakic is amazing at finding his range and has some of the best striking defense at Light Heavyweight. Rakic has some decent offensive wrestling, but certainly prefers to bang it out on the feet.

This is certainly a close match, but not an unwindable one for either fighter. Oezdemir can immediately change the pace of the fight in an instant from incredibly close range. The benefit that Rakic has is that he is able to dictate range incredibly well, something to certainly help him. Plus, the added benefit of his wrestling offers an exploit to Oezdemir’s power.

Take the Shot: Aleksander Rakic via Unanimous Decision 

Ciryl Gane vs. Tanner Boser (HW)

Welp, here’s your parlay match of the night.

Ciryl Gane (5-0, 2-0 UFC) is an elite kickboxer with devastating power. Yet, both his UFC wins have come from subs, showing his skill in every part of MMA. He is an absolute offensive powerhouse, which is really, really bad for Tanner Boser (17-5, 1-0 UFC). Boser is honestly pretty boring. He doesn’t offer much volume and likes to stay ahead on the scorecards, not boasting much finishing skill. This is essentially a shoe-in.

Take the Shot: Ciryl Gane via Round 2 Knockout

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos (BW)

Don’t let the Nurmagomedov name fool you, Said Nurmagomedov (13-1, 2-0 UFC) is not a wrestler like his cousin Khabib. Said normally relies on his unorthodox striking and length to dictate his fights and mainly point fights, not often finding the finish. Still, he has the coordination and all around brutality to mess up people’s nights and cut off their gameplan.

Raoni Barcelos (14-1, 3-0 UFC)  has elite striking with power along with nice submission chops and the cardio to go through five-rounders multiple times.He has immense success on the mat shoring up submissions, but also has advancing and power to score a knockout. He has finished all three of his UFC fights and is always live for a quick stop.

Even with Said’s interesting striking style, he isn’t bred for this match. His first UFC fight went to split decision and he doesn’t always present the most offense when he needs to. The pressure of Barcelos will certainly upset his wild, spinning attempts that give him advantages with his length, but most importantly, he lacks a lot of the power that can keep him in the firefight that Barcelos will certainly dish out.

Take the Shot: Raoni Barcelos via Round 2 Knockout

Make sure to check this one out, although it will be a late night as the show will be kicked off at 2 AM EST!

Until next time, Freaks!