“Korean Tiger” Lee Jung-Young, 28, passed the featherweight (65.8 kilograms) weigh-ins, ready to make his UFC debut. He remained humble in the face of his opponent, shaking hands without the expected nerves.
Lee (10-1) tipped the scales at 146 pounds (66.2 kg) at the weigh-ins for “UFC Fight Night: Dolizé vs. Imabov,” which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday (Nov. 3). His opponent, Blake Bilder (33, USA), weighed in at 144.5 pounds (65.5 kg). The two fighters will face off on April 4.
Lee, who is usually forehead to forehead with his opponents, has been known to get into nervous battles and even physical altercations, but this time he was calm. She reached out to him first to shake his hand, but other than that, there was no touching.
This time, I’m in humble mode. During the ROAD TO UFC Season 1 tournament, the UFC’s gateway to Asia, Lee learned that the world is a big place. After finishing his previous three bouts in less than a minute, Lee took five takedowns from Yi (27, China) in the finals.
“I learned a lesson that I will never underestimate my opponents again. In the past, she has compared her opponents to sheep and weasels and said she would go on a one-sided hunt, but this time was different. “I’m still confident, but I’ll never take my opponents lightly again,” Lee said, adding, “I’ll be really careful and thorough for my debut.”
As the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, the UFC, is a tough opponent. Bilder is also a former Cage Fighting Championships (CFFC) champion, a mid-level American organization, with a record of 8 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss.
“It’s true that UFC fighters are much stronger,” Lee said of his opponent, “and I think Bilder is like a lynx in terms of animals.”
Nevertheless, he’s looking for a finish. His right knee, which has been bothering him throughout his ROAD TO UFC career, is back to 100 percent after surgery. “I expect the fight with Builder to be a striking battle,” said Lee, “but I always look for the finish, no matter who I’m fighting. I am confident that we will have an exciting match.”
No arrogance, just confidence. “I will defeat Bilder and make the name of the ‘Korean Tiger’ known around the world and become an Asian superstar,” Lee proclaimed.
The main event middleweight (83.9kg) bout between Roman Dolije (35, Georgia) and Nasurdin Imabov (28, France) also passed the weigh-in. Dolizé tipped the scales at 186 pounds (84.4 kg) and Imaboff at 185 pounds (83.9 kg).
The ROAD TO UFC Season 2 finale, which followed the main 토토사이트 추천 event, saw one missed weight.
Featherweight finalist Cai Yuan (28, China) weighed in at 67.8 kg (149.5 lbs), 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) over the limit. As punishment, Cai Yuan will forfeit 20 percent of his fight fee to his opponent.
Lee, who advanced to his second straight featherweight final as runner-up last season, weighed in at 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds).
Flyweight (56.7 kg) finalists Rei Tsuruya (21, Japan) and Genius Yue (23, China) and Lightweight (70.3 kg) finalists Shin Haraguchi (25, Japan) and Long Zhu (23, China) all made weight.
The winners of the event will receive official UFC contracts. The bantamweight (61.2 kg) final, which was scheduled to feature Lee Chang Ho (29), was postponed indefinitely due to an injury to Xiaolong (25, China).
“UFC Fight Night: Dolizé vs. Imabov” will air live on April 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET on tvN SPORTS and TVING.