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Hell, it’s about time.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight title challenger Chan Sung "The Korean Zombie" Jung is finally done with his mandatory military service, returning to the cage this Saturday evening (Feb. 4, 2017) inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, after 3.5 years away from the sport. Waiting for him is fellow slugger Dennis Bermudez, also eager for another shot at the 145-pound elite.
In addition, top women’s Strawweight prospect Alexa Grasso makes her second UFC appearance against Felice Herrig and power-punching Lightweight Abel Trujillo takes on the towering James Vick.
The six UFC Fight Night 104 "Prelims" undercard matches are split 4:2 between FOX Sports 1 and Fight Pass. Let’s first see what’s brewing on the World Wide Web.
170 lbs.: Alex Morono vs. Niko Price
Alex Morono (13-3) entered UFC as the Legacy FC Welterweight champion and quickly got on the scoreboard with a narrow decision win over Kyle Noke. There was no such controversy against James Moontasri, whom "The Great White" battered in the latter two rounds.
Eight of his nine stoppage wins have come within five minutes.
Despite eight wins with seven stoppages, Niko Price (9-0) entered UFC as an underdog when he replaced Sabah Homasi against Brandon Thatch. Undaunted, he quickly took down the former blue-chip prospect and choked him out in the last minute of the first round.
He replaces the injured Sheldon Westcott on less than two weeks’ notice.
Oh, this is going to be fun. Both men are powerful, aggressive finishers with a heap of first-round stoppages under their belts. I just wish I’d gotten to see more of Price’s striking against Thatch, as Morono has some holes in his game that Moontasri found early success exploiting. If he can steer clear of the clinch at all costs, "The Hybrid" has a real shot here.
At the end of the day, though, I have to go with Morono, who has more high level experience and is more than tough enough to drag Price into unfamiliar waters. "The Great White" scrapes through via aggression and attrition.
Prediction: Morono via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: Khalil Rountree vs. Daniel Jolly
Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s second Light Heavyweight pick on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23, Khalil Rountree (4-2) became the sole member of his team to reach the tournament finals, where he lost a decision to Team Claudia Gadelha’s Andrew Sanchez. In his second Octagon appearance, he dropped fellow prospect Tyson Pedro early, but ultimately succumbed to the Aussie’s grappling prowess.
Two of his four wins have come by knockout.
After earning a pair of quick finishes in Legacy FC and a regional title soon after, Daniel Jolly (5-1) stepped up on short notice to take on top prospect Misha Cirkunov in Saskatchewan. "The Werewolf of Texas" struggled with his foe’s wrestling prowess and ultimately succumbed to ground-and-pound late in the first round.
This will be his first fight in seventeen months.
This is make-or-break for Rountree. His power is ridiculous -- the punch he landed on Pedro was one of the loudest I’ve heard in ages. However, his grappling has failed him time and time again. Jolly is the sort of mid-tier grappler he needs to fight at this point in his career to prove his prospect chops.
I’m picking him cautiously. His raw power, superior training camp and lack of a massive layoff are too much. But, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him tap once again.
Prediction: Rountree via first-round technical knockout
We have four more UFC Fight Night 104 bouts to preview and predict tomorrow, including several prospects in various weight classes. See you there, Maniacs!
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 104 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, and then the remaining under card balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the FOX Sports 1 main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
