Lee Ja (26, China) seizes a chance to make up for the disappointment of failing to advance to the UFC because he couldn’t surpass Lee Jung-young (28).
According to China’s ‘Migu’ content on the 18th, Kevin Chang, UFC vice president and general manager for Asia, said, “Although Lee did not sign a regular contract with the UFC, I think he is a fighter who is ready to fight on the major stage. He will give you another chance.”
‘Migu’ is the entertainment division of ‘China Mobile’, China’s largest telecommunications company. In the road to UFC featherweight (-66kg) final on the 5th, Lee Ji-young lost to Lee Jung-young by decision 1-2.
UFC, the world’s No. 1 mixed martial arts organization, launched Road to UFC in 2022, an Asian promising tournament that gives the winner of each weight class the qualification for a contract.
As Jeka Saragi (28, Indonesia) finished second in the Road to UFC lightweight (-70kg) tournament and succeeded in entering the official position, speculation came that Lee would also go straight to the UFC after finishing runner-up.
Vice President Kevin Chang explained, “I will take action so that I can play in the next season of Road to UFC or in the Contender Series this year,” while drawing the line from Lee Ji-ja’s immediate UFC contract.
Road to UFC was a big success centering on the lightweight division where Anshul Jubli (28, India) and Saragi faced each other in the final. It served as an opportunity to prove the commercial viability of mixed martial arts in India, which has the world’s largest population, and Indonesia, which has the fourth largest market.
The UFC is preparing to showcase Road to UFC in 2023 as well. The ‘Contender Series’ is a contest to discover promising talent directly hosted by President Dana White (54, USA). 온라인카지노
In the Road to UFC Finals with Lee Jung-young, Lee Ja recorded effective strikes of 24-25 and ground and clinch control of 8:19-50 seconds. Strike battles were equal, and grappling was overwhelming. This is the reason why there is a mixed dissatisfaction about the decision in China.
According to the American ‘Fight Matrix’ mixed martial arts ranking system, Lee Jung-young scored 96 points and Lee Ja 74 points. Lee Jung-young is ranked 37th in the UFC featherweight division, and Lee is ranked 52nd.
Lee Ja advanced to the Road to UFC final by defeating Japanese featherweight champions Keisuke Keisuke (29) and Koyomi Matsushima (31) one after another, raising the value of his name. It was the content of the match that could be said to have won against Lee Jung-young, so his reputation was not diminished.
Sasu was the champion of the Japanese tournament ‘Shuto’. Matsushima experienced a title fight in 2019 at One Championship (Singapore), one of the five major mixed martial arts organizations.