Featherweight contenders Chan Sung ‘ Korean Zombie’ Jung and Dustin
Poirier will collide this Tuesday at George Mason University’s Patriot
Center, marking the return of the power house promotional outfit to
Fairfax, VA for the second time.
Its debut took place a little over two years ago when Gray Maynard and
Nate Diaz headlined the event in a lightweight tilt won by Maynard in
somewhat of a lackluster outing. Expect much more this time around, as
both Jung and Poirier are dynamic strikers also known for their
creative submission skills.
Jung, who hails from Korea, should enjoy a bit of a home crowd
advantage considering the high Korean American population in the
Northern Virginia area. Fighting under the Zuffa brand since the WEC
days, the Korean Zombie has built a reputation as a crowd pleaser,
most notably since his infamous war against Leonard Garcia. Jung
exacted revenge on his UFC debut, becoming the first to successfully
execute Eddie Bravo’s ‘twister’ in tapping out Garcia.
In UFC 140, Jung upset former title challenger and the always durable
Mark Hominick in just seven seconds en route to earning the ‘knock out
of the night’ honors.
Poirer is another UFC featherweight addition since the acquisition of
WEC and has also climbed up the ranks without tasting defeat inside
the Octagon.
The Louisiana native is on a five fight winning streak, with two of
his last coming in by a way of submission stoppage.
It’s an interesting match-up between two aggressive combatants willing
to mix it up inside the cage. The winner could foresee a title shot in
the near future.
Joining his countryman Jung on this card is the heavy handed Dong Yi
Yang who is expected to face the Ultimate Fighter 11 participant Brad
Tavares in a three round middleweight battle. Yang was last seen
valiantly testing Court McGee before losing a decision. Tavares is
coming off the lone loss of his career in his last bout against Aaron
Simpson nearly a year ago.
Amir Sadollah, the winner of Ultimate Fighter season 7 will look to
bounce back from a disappointing loss in last August and standing in
his way is the young Jorge Lopez who will also try to get back on the
winning column. Sadollah is a Muay Thai standout who also has
dangerous ground game and should be the favorite going in against the
less experienced Las Vegas based Lopez.
Also returning to action, lightweight contender Donald Cerrone will
showcase his talent against the very tough Jeremy Stephens of Des
Moines, IA. Long time veteran Jason MacDonald of Canada will engage
in a middleweight battle against Tom Lawlor. Fellow Canadian TJ Grant
is also set for action, going against grappling specialist Carlo
Prater of Brazil. Grant was last seen at the Verizon Center in
Washington, D.C, impressively submitting Shane Roller with an armbar.
Making his UFC debut, former unbeaten four time NCAA Division III
champion, Marcus LeVesseur will take on Cody McKenzie in the
lightweight division. Levesseur is one of the best wrestlers ever to
sign with the organization and it should be interesting to see how
he’ll compete among the elites. A little known fact is that LeVesseur
is the only other wrestler besides Cael Sanderson to have won four
national collegiate without tasting defeat and also holds a high
school win over current Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren.
First bout of the evening is slated for 5:30 PM. UFC on Fuel: Korean
Zombie vs. Poirer is scheduled to go live on air at 8:00 PM (ET).
For the entire lineup on this card, visit http://www.ufc.com/event/FUEL3#/fight
