We're Back With Another LineStar Weekly Knockout!

Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast and practitioner, Chris Guy. More about me at the end of this newsletter.

Instagram: @therealsethgeko

Main Card

Brian Ortega (+170) vs. Chan Sung Jung (-185)

Ortega: $7.6k, FD: $19 | Zombie: DK: $8.6k, FD: $20

Hello, hello. This episode of the Weekly Knockout is brought to you by the letter Wu, and the Wu-Tang Clan reminding the Korean Zombie to Protect Ya Neck! That’s a fantastic general life-rule to live by, and in Chan Sung Jung’s line of work, it has immediate application.

About a year ago, Brian Ortega and the Korean Zombie struck up a toxic on-again, off-again relationship at an MMA award show. Twenty-eight days later, they were scheduled to fight for the second time. That fight fell through and was rescheduled for twenty-eight weeks later. This Saturday we’ll finally witness the dramatic conclusion to this soap opera, having been described as a throwback apocalyptic Jerry Springer episode.

Chan Sung Jung is riding a two and 9/10 winning streak—he was one second away from beating Yair Rodriguez but walked into an Ong-Bak elbow at the buzzer, and was KO’d face down like Manny Pacquiao was against Juan Manuel Marquez—and is trying to make up for lost time. In 2013, he challenged the then champion, Jose Aldo, for the featherweight title and was TKO’d in the fourth round. But everybody knows 2013 Jose Aldo was roided up Willie, A-Ledge-Ged-Ly. The Zombie then served his mandatory two years in the Korean military and did not fight again until 2017.

The Korean Zombie has finished three out of his last four fights via first-round KO/TKO, his lone loss coming in the aforementioned Rodriguez fight. Chang Sung Jung has some of the most underrated boxing in MMA. When you watch the fight this weekend, pay close attention to his subtle slips and counters, and his footwork. It almost looks like he’s standing in place like he’s shadowboxing in front of a mirror, but he’s creating slight angles and manipulating his opponent with short, choppy steps and slides.

Make a fist and look at it like you’re going to sock yourself. The width of your hand is as far as your head needs to move to avoid a punch. It’s not much. Often, you see big, exaggerated bobs and weaves that are effective for avoiding strikes but leave little opportunity to counter. Short, quick slips allow you to counter before your opponent moves or covers up. The Korean Zombie is a master at moving his head and feet just enough to avoid strikes and countering off the brief openings.

Jung’s hands are quick, he’s a combination striker, and he mixes body shots with head strikes. I would give Jung the nod in striking. Brian Ortega has good boxing, good, not great. He puts combinations together well and uses his jab to set up his power shots, but his defense gets him into trouble.

Ortega, too often, relies on boxing style shoulder rolls and the Philly Shell as his primary defense. If you don’t know, the Philly Shell is the style of defense the Mayweathers used to build a boxing empire; Google it. It is a very effective defense in boxing if executed correctly, but in boxing you have huge pillows for gloves. The surface area you have to defend with is larger with ten to fourteen-ounce boxing gloves than with four-ounce MMA gloves. Too many punches get through, and Ortega takes a lot of damage.

Ortega uses good head movement, but he doesn’t move his feet at the same time and will get caught bobbing and weaving in place and not creating angles to escape. He’s coming off his first loss, to Max Holloway, and hasn’t fought in the near two years since. Against Renato Moicano, Ortega took heavy damage and was losing the standup exchanges before pulling out a third-round guillotine choke, after a tactical blunder by Moicano. Cub Swanson pieced up Ortega in the first round of their fight, but he too was caught in a guillotine in the second round.

Ortega secures guillotines from the clinch; he’ll climb up an opponent after snatching down the head, and it’s a wrap. T-City is Ortega’s nickname and is short for Triangle City. The prized student of Rener Gracie, he has developed a treacherous guard and specializes in triangle chokes. The Korean Zombie will look to avoid Ortega’s guard and the clinch at all costs. Protect Ya Neck.

Although Ortega is a grappling wizard, he lacks traditional takedowns. Before the Holloway fight, Ortega hadn’t recorded a takedown in five straight fights. He’s a world-class grappler who has fallen in love with striking. Ortega needs to get a hold of Jung, push him up against the cage, grind him, and work trips and submission attempts. If this fight is like the Holloway fight, a kickboxing match with MMA gloves, the Korean Zombie will slowly start getting the better of the striking exchanges.

At the opening, the Korean Zombie was the favorite at (-175) and Ortega, the dog at (+150). Before the Holloway fight, Ortega finished six straight fights, while Jung has finished all six of his UFC wins and fourteen of his sixteen pro wins. I expect both fighters to score big significant strikes, and the fight has a high probability of ending before the allotted twenty-five minutes. The Korean Zombie is going to break my main event-losing streak with a fourth round TKO. You know what to do with that; put it on wax.

Winner: Korean Zombie | Method: TKO Rd.4

Kaitlyn Chookagian (+125) vs. Jessica Andrade (-145)

Chookagian: DK: $7.8k, FD: $15 | Andrade: DK: $8.4k, FD: $16

Katlyn Chookagian has the distinction of fighting both the Shevchenko sisters and living to tell about it. She even beat one of them. In her last fight, she dominated Antonina Shevchenko by securing takedowns and maintaining top position. The fight previous, she lost to one of the GOATS, Valentina Shevchenko, in a bout for the featherweight title.

Chookagian is a solid all-around fighter and has several big wins on her resume, Irene Aldana, Alexis Davis, Joanne Calderwood, and Jennifer Maia. She’s a long, rangy striker with consistent high output, averaging six significant strikes landed per minute. However, her strikes are largely peppering, staying-busy type of strikes, and lack power. She’s not a finisher; in fourteen professional wins, she has three finishes and hasn’t recorded one since 2016.

Jessica Andrade showed me a lot in her last fight against Rose Namajunas after I treated her like a charitable donation and wrote her off. If that fight had been a five-round main event, Rose would have been on the business end of a fourth-round TKO, after dominating the first and most of the second round.

Jessica is quick and fearless. She has no hesitation jumping into the fire as the shorter fighter in every one of her fights. She uses her quickness and powerful hooks to get inside and deliver heavy damage to opponents. Andrade became the strawweight champion after she slammed Rose on her head in their first meeting, and her ground game is easily on par, if not better, than Chookagian’s.

In a full three-round bout, both these ladies will record a high number of significant strikes, but I think Andrade will break her two-fight losing streak with a decision victory. On wax, Jessica Andrade via decision.

Winner: Jessica Andrade | Method: Decision

Jimmy Crute (-350 ) vs Modestas Bukauskas (+275 )

Crute: DK: $9k, FD: $19 | Bukauskas: DK: $7.2k, FD: $10

Modestas Bukauskas is fighting for the second time in the UFC; his first was a weird stoppage after the first round bell when his opponent wasn't able to walk back to his corner. Modestas delivered a series of Travis Browne elbows that rocked his opponent while his back was against the cage and defending a takedown. He’s a big power puncher with good fundamentals. He throws short combinations and has long punches. His hand speed is slow, but he does well hiding his power right behind his jab.

Jimmy Crute is a fun, dynamic fighter and can take the fight to the ground if he chooses to. He got into a grappling firefight with the savvy veteran Misha Cirkunov in his lone UFC loss. He’s 3-1 with the promotion with three finishes. He tapped the Jiu-Jitsu ace, Paul Craig, in his debut with a Kimura and won his most recent bout in the same fashion. Crute has technical kickboxing with heavy kicks that he tends to throw naked with no setup. He also throws short, clean combinations and has power in his right hand. Both of these fighters are finishers; Modestas has ten finishes in eleven wins, and Crute has finished his last four wins.

Crute is the more dynamic fighter with more avenues to victory, and will likely look to wrestle with Bukauskas for stretches. I like Crute’s chances for a finish late. I’m taking Jimmy Crute via some fashion of strangulation in the third round.

Winner: Jimmy Crute | Method: Choke Rd.3

Claudio Silva (+145) vs. James Krause (-170)

Silva: DK: $7.7k, FD: $13 | Krause: DK: $8.5k, FD: $17

Silva is a one-punch power striker with strong leg kicks and wild, wide punches. He’s on a fourteen-fight winning streak after losing his first pro fight. Nine submission wins highlight his record, and armbars and rear-naked chokes are his specialties. Silva has a strong position ground game and only strikes to open up possible advancing opportunities and submissions. He will earn advancing points from the top and averages three takedowns a fight. That’s one per round, which means once he gets you down, you don’t get up.

James Krause is an excellent grappler too, and before losing his last fight—a fight he took on two days notice and at a higher weight class—he was on a six-fight winning streak. Krause has the more technical, traditional kickboxing and mixes up his strikes well. He will definitely have the edge on the feet, but the fight will be decided by his ability to stuff takedowns and defend submissions.

Claudio Silva has shown major holes in his striking, and Krause will try to take advantage of them by moving laterally and using long kicks and punches to stay on the outside and upright. Silva is a sleeper at a $7,700 cap price given his submission abilities. Krause is sitting in purgatory at $8,600 and will have a hard time tallying big significant strike numbers, but I think he’ll do enough to squeak by with a decision win. James Krause via decision.

Winner: James Krause | Method: Decision

Thomas Almeida (-125 ) vs Jonathan Martinez (+100)

Almeida: DK: $8.2k, FD: $17 | Martinez: DK: $8k, FD: $16

Banger Alert. It wasn’t too long ago that Thomas Almeida was a highly touted prospect, after starting 4-0 in his UFC career. Fast-forward from 2015 and Almeida is 1-3 in his last four bouts and riding a two-fight losing streak. 2018 was his most recent appearance inside the Octagon, and he was KO’d in the second round by Rob Font.

Almeida is a prototypical Brazilian Muay Thai striker with an upright stance and very little foot and head movement. He is a slow starter and usually looks lumpy and swollen after the first five minutes. The pocket isn’t where Almeida wants to be caught throwing punches; he thrives on the outside where he can maintain distance with his long strikes. A lot like the Dallas Cowboys, he’s a come-from-behind fighter who chips away and finds himself with a chance to win late in fights he looked like he was on the verge of losing in the first round.

You have to have a plan for leg kicks. If Jonathan Martinez were alive during the Civil War, he would have been a medic who specialized in leg amputations. He changes fights with constant leg kicks and uses them in combination with his hands. Martinez isn’t a volume striker and likes to maintain distance and engage in controlled exchanges. Jonathan has a 3-2 record in the UFC and is coming off a third-round TKO victory against the dusty Frankie Saenz. When he loses fights, it’s usually because of a lack of aggression and getting outworked.

I think this fight is more of a showcase for Martinez than it is about getting a once highly regarded prospect in Almeida back on track. Both Martinez and Almeida will score sixty to seventy significant strikes in a three-round bout, but I believe Martinez has a better chance at a finish, although I don’t think he’ll get one. Jonathan Martinez via decision.

Winner: Jonathan Martinez | Method: Decision

Prelims

Mateusz Gamrot (-300 ) vs. Guram Kutateladze (+240 )

Gamrot: DK: $8.9k, FD: $18 | Kutateladze: DK: $7.3k, FD: $11

Who vs. who? This will be an undercover banger between two little-known UFC debutantes. These guys are two high-level strikers with completely different styles. Both are ready to use straight out the box, with little assembly required, and can come into the UFC and compete with almost anyone.

Gamrot is excellent at using his jab, offensively, defensively as a counter, and as a distance manager. Like a joystick, Gamrot can fight in any direction and doesn’t have to completely vacate the pocket to avoid strikes. He likes to stay in the pocket and counter off of quick slips. Takedowns, he’s got ‘em in his cargo pockets but usually uses them to score points, and not to maintain top position. This dude is 17-0, and you have to do a lot of things right to be 17-0, even if you’re fighting Boxcar Willie and a collection of hobos on your way to challenge Drederick Tatum for the title.

Khamzat Chimaev is Guram Kutateladze’s training partner, and it’s impossible not to be a killer yourself training with that guy. If you’ve ever played Madden on Playstation 2 back in the day, you’ll remember the juke move you could do by pressing the R2 and L2 buttons. Guram executes that little juke move while moving laterally and creates weird angles to engage. His movement is perpetual, his output is never-ending, and he mixes in a variety of kicks.

Takedowns, he’s got ‘em too. Guram will secure takedowns and let his opponents up, just so he can take them down again. Banger? Yep. This will be a back-and-forth, high-level standup fight with some exciting scrambles sprinkled in. No idea who wins this. I could be very wrong, but I think Guram is a sleeper and could be a steal at $7,300 for your Fantasy rosters. I’m going to climb to the edge of the limb on this one and take Guram Kutateladze via decision.

Winner: Guram Kutateladze | Method: Decision

If you're like me and like to find a big underdog or two, with a legit shot at an upset, to drop a couple of duckets on, Guram is that guy. Might not be a twenty-twen-twen situation, but a little ten spot would suffice.

Gillian Robertson (-225) vs. Poliana Botelho (+185)

Robertson: DK: $8.7k, FD: $18 | Botelho: DK: $7.5k, FD: $12

This is an interesting matchup. Gillian Robertson is an excellent grappler and submission specialist. She is a seven-fight UFC veteran and has quietly recorded a 5-2 record, her only losses coming to top tier fighters, Maycee Barber and Mayra Bueno Silva. Robertson’s standup doesn’t match the caliber of her grappling abilities, and she’ll look to take this fight to the mat quick, real quick.

Because her striking is sub-par, Robertson has difficulty closing the distance to initiate takedowns. As a result, she has to get creative and uses clever tricks like pulling her opponent into half-guard to work her way into a standing clinch, where she can work single and double legs against the fence. Pulling guard is also in play for Robertson, and when she gets it to the mat, she is a position grappler, hunting for subs rather than looking to ground and pound.

Poliana Botelho is a wild, careless striker with heavy round kicks. Her hands don’t match the quality of her kicks but she is able to compensate with aggressive forward pressure. She has a very upright posture and holds her chin high in the air like she smells what The Rock is cookin’. The problem for Gillian is that Botelho is a good grappler too. She shoots power double legs and has a heavy top game with decent ground and pound.

Robertson’s Fantasy value is in her ability to finish fights; her last seven victories have been via submission. Botelho has six TKO/KO’s in eight pro wins, and her value is in landing a kick and creating a fight-ending sequence on her feet. This is a 50/50 toss-up, and my gut tells me Botelho can neutralize Robertson’s takedowns and create long stretches on the feet. Poliana Botelho, third-round TKO.

Winner: Poliana Botelho | Method: TKO Rd.3

Junyong Park (-250 ) vs. John Phillips (-200 )

Park: DK: $8.8k, FD: $17 | Phillips: $7.4k, FD: $13

In his last fight this past July, John Phillips was sacrificed, bled out in front of the altar of Khamzat Chimaev during a ritualistic ceremony conducted to appease the future double-champ. Surviving into the second round against Chimaev is a big accomplishment, and Phillips was able to do that. There’s not a whole lot to John Phillips; there’s nothing memorable about him, and his name is even forgettable. He’s a durable happy hour bar fighter who throws wide, round punches that end at his waist. Phillips is a boxer with MMA gloves and doesn’t throw anything other than hands. I will say this about John Phillips; every time I completely dismiss a fighter, he/she goes on to win the fight and usually in a big way. Ask Chris Daukaus how that goes.

I was impressed by Junyong Park and his boxing skills. The jab is the most important strike in any combat sport, and a day one fundamental that is often underutilized. Park uses his jab to hide power punches and to thwart forward pressure (thwart; you like that!?-Kirk Cousins voice). Similar to the Korean Zombie, Park uses subtle slips and counters and remains in the pocket. He likes to slip to his power hand side and counter with a power uppercut. It’s the same punch Conor McGregor landed against Floyd Mayweather in the opening seconds of their bout.

Phillips is 1-4 in the UFC, and Park is 1-1. When it comes to your Fantasy roster, Park is the choice here. He stays busy and was around eighty significant strikes landed in both of his fights. Phillips, on the other hand, averages two significant strikes landed per minute but did have a seventeen second KO win a year ago. Junyong Park via decision.

Winner: Junyong Park | Method: Decision

Jamie Mullarkey (-140 ) vs. Fares Ziam (+120 )

Mullarkey: $8.3k, FD: $15 | Ziam: DK: $7.9k, FD: $15

I like Mullarkey in this matchup. Both fighters are fighting for only the second time in the UFC, but Mullarkey went three tough rounds against a future top contender in Brad Riddell in his debut. Mullarkey had moments when he could have finished the fight, but in the end, he took too much damage. Typical wrestler striking consists of very short, powerful combinations, usually consisting of two to three punches. It’s usually pretty basic but very technically sound. If you remember Josh Koscheck or Matt Hughes, you’ll know what I mean. Mullarkey is a wrestling striker who looks to use his hands to set up takedowns.

Fares Ziam is a tall, long striker with a Muay Thai background. Also coming off a loss in his promotional debut, Ziam will look to be more aggressive in his second outing. Ziam doesn’t use his length very well and allows shorter fighters to get inside on him with little consequence. His posture is upright with little foot or head movement, and he doesn’t use his jab enough to take advantage of his reach. Ziam has strong takedown defense but settles with being held up against the fence as long as he isn’t taken down.

There isn’t much footage on Ziam other than his UFC debut, but he’s 10-3 with nine finishes, so I know he is capable of more than he showed in his debut. Mullarkey seems to have more options when it comes to the paths he can travel to victory, and I’ll put him on wax with a decision victory. Ziam landed only ten significant strikes in a three-round decision loss in his last fight, and Mullarkey landed thirty-six. If I were in a bind, I’d look at Mullarkey, but I’d try to avoid both.

Winner: Jamie Mullarkey | Method: Decision

Gadzhimurad Antigulov (+290) vs. Maxim Grishin (-370)

Antigulov: DK: $7.1k, FD: $10 | Grishin: DK: $9.1k, FD: $20

Take Grishin. He’s the far better striker, and he’s tough to take down. Antigulov will look to throw heavy power punches early to move Grishin back and push him up against the cage to work takedowns. That’s about all he’s got.

Grishin isn’t a monster by any means, but he has heavy round kicks and a right hand that can end the fight early. His major malfunction is that his output is low, and he tends to Tyron Woodley himself—back himself up against the cage like it’s his safe space and throws an occasional right hand. That’s not a good look against someone who wants to take you down at all costs.

Antigulov has been finished in his last three fights and has only fought outside of the first round five times in twenty-seven pro fights; most of those only went to the second. Give me Grishin TKO, third round. Grishin will cost $9,100 against your Fantasy salary cap, but he might be one of the better shots at a finish in that tier. At $7,100, Antigulov could definitely be a steal by finding a way to get Grishin down and landing a submission.

Winner: Maxim Grishin | Method: TKO Rd.3

Said Nurmagomedov (-400 ) vs. Mark Striegl (+310)

Nurmagomedov: DK: $9.2k, FD: $21 | Striegl: DK: $7k, FD: $9

First off, Said Nurmagomedov has no relation to Khabib, but he does call himself Khabib’s cousin; but they’re not really cousins. They’re more like Peter-in-laws than actual cousins. Said’s style is completely different than Khabib’s; he’s more of a striker than Khabib and throws spinning attacks like a jab. Back kicks, elbows, back fists, you name it; he throws it.

Said has a decent ground game and takedowns, but they’re not even close to Khabib’s. The faux Nurmagomedov will use his grappling more defensively in this matchup; his opponent, Mark Striegl, is a Southeast Asian Games Sambo Gold Medalist. He is 18-2 with fourteen submission victories.

Striegl tends to fade late in fights but is a lot to handle in the first two rounds. He has wrestling striking, as I mentioned early, but he is a submission Bob Ross with fourteen subs to his name. I don’t think the gap between these two is as large as the odds will suggest it is, and at $7,000 against your cap, I’d consider him for a possible upset; if he wins, it will be by submission.

I say that to say this, I’m taking Said Nurmagomedov, and his name isn’t as hard to spell as it sounds like it would be. At a $9,200 cap hit, I’d pretend not to recognize Said if I bumped into him at the Continental breakfast and make my way over to Maxim Grishin’s table instead. Said Nurmagomedov via decision.

Winner: Said Nurmagomedov | Method: Decision 

At (+310), I'm dropping a Jackson on Striegl. He's 18-2 and has fought for the One FC promotion, and is a gold medalist. A gold medal is a gold medal even if he won it at the Thunderdome Invitational.

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.

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