The UFC returns to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on Tuesday for the first time since January 2010, with a very important featherweight bout in the main event.
The red-hot Chan Sung Jung, aka the Korean Zombie, meets the fast-rising Dustin Poirier with the winner having sights on a title shot and viewers in Canada can catch all the action on Sportsnet.
A relatively rare midweek card, UFC on FUEL TV 3: Jung vs. Poirier will air Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on all Sportsnet regional channels.
The main card features six fights, and will be kicked off by a middleweight bout between Sportsnet.ca blogger Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald of Red Deer, Alta., taking on American (Filthy) Tom Lawlor.
Jung (12-3) had a rough start to his Zuffa career, dropping his only two fights in the WEC in 2010. But since being brought over to the UFC, he has won both his fights in spectacular fashion.
In his UFC debut in March 2011, he defeated Leonard Garcia using the rarely-seen twister, earning Submission of the Night. The athletic move, pulled off in the final second of the second round, was also deemed Submission of the Year.
It was sweet redemption for Jung as the fight was a rematch of his first WEC bout, which he lost to Garcia by split decision in a fight many thought should have gone his way.
One might have thought it hard to top that in his sophomore UFC appearance, but you’d be hard-pressed to say he didn’t do it.
Facing Thamesford, Ont.’s Mark Hominick in his near-hometown at UFC 140 in Toronto in December, Jung toppled the local favourite with his first punch and forced a stoppage at the seven-second mark, tied for the second-fastest knockout in UFC history. It easily earned Knockout of the Night for his second straight fight bonus.
Another just-as-impressive win over Poirier should definitely put him in contention for the 145-pound belt, which will next be defended by Jose Aldo in Calgary at UFC 149 this July against Erik Koch.
Meanwhile, Poirier (12-1) is on a great run since a loss by unanimous decision to Danny Castillo in his WEC debut in August 2010, which was his first professional defeat. He is currently on a five-fight win streak including winning all four of his UFC appearances.
He first turned heads when he defeated Josh Grispi at UFC 125 in the first fight since the WEC was merged into the UFC. Grispi had been named the No. 1 contender to Aldo’s featherweight title and was set to fight him before Aldo was injured. He opted to take another fight, risking his No. 1 contendership, and promptly lost it to the opportunistic Poirier.
Despite not facing any other real contenders since, the 23-year-old is expected to get the next title shot with a win over The Korean Zombie. If anything, their bout is expected to be a barnburner.
Also on Tuesday’s main card, Donald Cerrone faces Jeremy Stephens in a lightweight contest between two highly aggressive strikers. Their bout between potential contenders is the biggest candidate for Fight of the Night.
In addition to MacDonald one other Canadian is on the main card, while another can be found on the undercard, which will air on the UFC’s Facebook page.
In the third televised fight, Montreal’s Yves Jabouin (17-7) takes on Jeff Hougland (10-4). It is the third fight at bantamweight since dropping down from 145 pounds for Jabouin, who trains at Tristar gym. The 32-year-old is undefeated at 135 pounds, winning both fights by split decision, but he is looking for a more convincing victory against the less experience Hougland, a late replacement for Mike Easton.
T.J. Grant (17-5) of Cole Harbour, N.S., meets Brazilian veteran Carlo Prater (30-10-1) in a lightweight preliminary bout. It’s just the second fight at 155 pounds for the former welterweight after winning his debut over Shane Roller in October.
After a lacklustre 2010, Prater is on a five-fight win streak. He is coming off a victory in his UFC debut over Erick Silva, but you can barely call that a win, as he was knocked out in 29 seconds from strikes only to have his opponent disqualified when it was deemed that some of them were punches to the back of his head.
In the co-main event, The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah (5-3) faces Jorge Lopez (11-2) in a welterweight tilt. Each coming off a loss, they were expected to meet in February before both suffered injuries.
Sadollah won the TUF crown in 2008 with a win over C.B. Dollaway as a middleweight, but he’s fought at 170 pounds ever since. The 31-year-old has followed every defeat with two straight wins, so things could be looking up for him on Tuesday.
Lopez, 24, had a 10-fight win streak snapped in September, dropping his Octagon debut to Justin Edwards.
Rounding out the very decent main card, Croatian Igor Pokrajac faces Fabio Moldonado in a light-heavyweight scrap. Pokrajac is coming off a first-round TKO over Winnipeg’s Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 140 in Toronto, while Moldonado is looking to rebound from a loss to Kyle Kingsbury last June.
