The UFC is returning to Singapore this weekend with a 13-fight lineup headlined by a featherweight clash between Max Holloway and the Korean Zombie. The event will be airing extremely early here in the US, with the prelims kicking off at 5 am ET and the main card starting at 8 am ET. While the event features a handful of fun fights, most of the attention will be on the main event matchup between Holloway and Zombie. Let’s take a look at both fighters and how this fight could play out:
Max Holloway is 24-7 with 12 stoppage wins and is one of the best fighters in featherweight division history. He holds a litany of divisional and promotional records, including the record for most significant strikes landed in UFC history (3,122). To put that in perspective, he holds a 1,302 strike lead over Angela Hill, who is number two on the promotion’s all-time list. Holloway is an extremely talented striker with high volume and great cardio who tends to stand in the pocket and overwhelm his opponents in the striking exchanges.
Chan Sung Jung, aka the Korean Zombie, is 17-7 in his career with 14 of his wins coming via finish and he will be competing in his 10th consecutive main event this weekend. TKZ is one of the most entertaining fighters in the featherweight division and never fails to put on a show. Zombie is a dangerous striker and is also a threat on the ground, with eight of his stoppage wins coming via submission. He will be returning from a year-plus layoff since his last fight, which was a pretty one-sided TKO loss to UFC Featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski.
Holloway is a massive betting favorite in this matchup, and with good reason. Other than struggling in his trilogy of fights with Volkanovski, it has been ten years since another UFC featherweight has beaten Holloway, and that was a loss to prime Conor McGregor. While Zombie always presents a threat when he is in the octagon, this is a terrible matchup for him. Holloway should be able to keep this fight on the feet, where he will be the superior striker and will likely wear down Zombie as the fight progresses. Zombie has been stopped four times via KO/TKO, and I think there’s a solid chance Holloway can add another in the latter rounds, with seven of his twelve finishes coming in Round 3 or later.