- Chin Tucker
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- Because We F***ing Love This Sport
To those of you who are reading this because I called in a favour, and the handful of strangers alike, I’d just like to say: thank you for indulging me.
It’s no secret I’ve achieved a level of influence far beyond what somebody with my stodgy, agricultural looks and feeble intellect deserves. And yet here I am.
Now, twice a week, I — Garry “The Notorious MSG” Lu of BH fame — will be worming my way into your inbox with the latest in mixed martial arts-related news, feature articles written while doing my best Vanity Fair impression, armchair analysis (occasionally facilitated by actual experts), as well as punting tips (heed at your own risk).
People often ask me how I can enjoy something as violent as MMA. To which I always say — how can you not?
Like Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane to baseball, I can’t help but feel romantic about the other sweet science. And given the opportunity, I’d wax poetic about the nobility of combat sports until each and every one of you hit “unsubscribe.”
So to keep things succinct, I’ll simply refer to a quote from the greatest MMA documentary of all time (which was clearly penned by a far more talented writer than I):
“Your home belongs to the bank, your gas tank is lining the pockets of those who had more to do with 9/11 than the country your brother just died fighting in, and you’re told the economy is in high gear even though your paycheque is buying less and less. But what you just saw in the cage was unambiguous. One person hit another and the other fell. Nothing about it lied to you.”
That, in essence, is why millions of us love this sport so much.
The cage is one of the last remaining places where magic — real magic — still exists.
No sleight of hand, pyrotechnic trickery, nor scripted drama. Just an honest exchange of three currencies that cannot ever be counterfeited: blood, sweat, and hours logged in some padded gym basement.
It’s where “impossible“ is nothing more than a three-syllable word to athletes who routinely redefine the limits of human potential; who desperately grasp at the promise of eternity with every bout.
It’s where those who’ve endured poverty beyond our understanding can break an intergenerational cycle, seek their fortune, and even earn the #1 ranking on a Forbes rich list.
And to reduce all this to oft-parroted terms like “human cockfighting” isn’t just woefully misguided. It’s an indictment of your narrow worldview.
— GL
An Ode To One Of The Greatest UFC Fighters Who Never Touched A Belt
There are no prizes for second place in mixed martial arts.
It’s an unforgiving sport defined by those fortunate enough to have their hands raised post-final bell.
As for the poor schmucks who find themselves on the wrong end of a KO/TKO, submission. or judges’ decision, the best they can do is to learn from their mistakes, mitigate whatever long-term damage they’ve just sustained, and come back stronger for the next bout.
That is perhaps why The Korean Zombie (real name: Jung Chan-sung) is such a unique case.
This past weekend, after being dealt a third-round KO by perennial #1 contender Max Holloway, he decided to lay down the gloves and call it a day.
Throughout his consistently entertaining career, the 36-year-old brawler who you could never accuse of being “boring” dispatched several icons, ranging from Dustin Poirier to Frankie Edgar.
He also unsuccessfully contested for the belt on two occasions against the featherweight division’s GOATS: recent Hall of Fame inductee Jose Aldo back in 2013; and future Hall of Famer (slash reigning P4P king) Alexander Volkanovski just last year.
But the most formidable adversary he ever faced was none of the above. It was poor timing.
In 2014, shortly after being defeated by Aldo at UFC 163, the rising star was forced to take a two-year hiatus from competing to fulfil his mandatory military service, as required of all South Korean males — effectively robbing him of his prime.
Upon his return in 2017, his loss column began to match his wins, and the damage just kept stacking up.
As futile as it may be to delve into counterfactuals, one does wonder how different his trajectory would’ve been had he been able to trade the barracks for the Octagon; or had he avoided that ridiculous final-second KO dealt by Yair Rodriguez in 2018 (I’m still not over that bullshit).
But I suppose that’s all tears in the rain at this stage.
Mixed martial arts might not offer any accolades for second place, though it does occasionally come with a consolation prize.
That fateful evening he decided to punctuate his 16-year run inside the cage, The Korean Zombie went out swinging. He lived by the sword and heroically died by the sword.
With countless adoring fans as his witness, The Korean Zombie set his bloodied leather onto the canvas, before exiting to the grateful roars of those in attendance at Kallang’s Singapore Indoor Stadium and, for the very last time, his signature walkout song: ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries.
Short of pulling a Georges St-Pierre/Khabib Nurmagomedov and smoke-bombing with the belt (or a decisive first-round KO against a journeyman a la Robbie Lawler), that, my friends, is all you can ever really hope for.
Jung Chan-sung — the first-ever UFC athlete to pull off a twister submission; and just one in three in total, at the time of this writing — retires with a hard-earned record of 17-8.
ICYMI: ‘Stylebender’ Official Trailer
In the current era of endless sports documentaries, it was only a matter of time before reigning UFC middleweight king — Israel Adesanya — became the subject of his own.
And ahead of his seventh title defence, this time against the hilariously out-of-pocket Sean Strickland which is set to take place right here in Sydney, we now have a trailer.
The synopsis is as follows:
STYLEBENDER is an intimate look at Israel Adesanya, the Nigerian-born, New Zealand-based MMA champion, which goes beyond the Octagon and delves deep into an unlikely fighter's journey. Exploring Israel’s experiences of masculinity, bullying, mental health and the healing power of dance, the film is a poignant examination of the complex, electrifying, and sometimes controversial figure known as “The Last Stylebender.”
Stylebender is scheduled to premiere in select theatres on September 28th (with early preview screenings available from September 4th).
Upcoming Events
September 3rd [2 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Ciryl Gane vs Serghei Spivac
Accor Arena, Paris | FranceSeptember 10th [10 AM AEST]
UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney | AustraliaSeptember 17th [9 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko II
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas | USSeptember 24th [1 AM AEST]
Bellator 299: Johnny Eblen vs Fabian Edwards
3Arena, Dublin | IrelandSeptember 24th [6 AM AEST]
UFC Fight Night: Rafael Fiziev vs Matteusz Gamrot
UFC APEX, Las Vegas | USSeptember 30th [10 AM AEST]
ONE Fight Night: Stamp Fairtex vs Ham Seo Hee
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang | Singapore
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