Chan Sung Jung. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC / Contributor (Getty Images)
Common pursuits brought Renato ‘Moicano’ Carneiro and Chan Sung Jung together. Part of a line of contenders that has formed behind Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Max Holloway, Moicano and Jung will lock horns in the UFC Fight Night 154 headliner on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Meanwhile, heavy-handed bantamweight slugger John Lineker takes on Rob Font in the three-round co-main event at 135 pounds.
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Moicano has compiled a 5-2 record since joining the UFC roster in December 2014, losing only to Brian Ortega and former champion Jose Aldo. “Moicana” threw out his anchor at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he trains alongside some of the sport’s most successful fighters, including two-division UFC women’s titleholder Amanda Nunes, lightweight contender Dustin Poirier and welterweight lightning rod Colby Covington. Moicano has secured six of his 13 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout.
Renato “Moicano” Carneiro punches Jose Aldo. Photo: Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
The 32-year-old Jung last competed at UFC Fight Night 139 in November, when he was victimized by a reverse upward elbow from Yair Rodriguez in one of the greatest knockouts of all-time. Though he remains something of a cult hero among hardcore fans for his willingness to throw caution to the wind inside the cage, “The Korean Zombie” has seen his career interrupted by factors that were largely outside of his control, from mandatory military service in his native South Korea to serious knee and shoulder injuries. In fact, Jung has not fought more than once in a calendar year since 2011.
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Chan Sung Jung punches Yair Rodriguez. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
UFC Fight Night 154—which streams live to ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT—also features a welterweight tilt pairing Bryan Barberena with Randy Brown, a women’s flyweight clash pitting Andrea Lee against Montana De La Rosa, a middleweight affair matching Kevin Holland with Alessio Di Chirico and a women’s strawweight confrontation slotting Ashley Yoder opposite Syuri Kondo. ESPN2 will provide coverage of the entire six-fight undercard at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
The UFC will share the MMA stage with Bellator MMA, as Gegard Mousasi defends his middleweight championship against the unbeaten Rafael Lovato Jr. in the Bellator London “Mousasi vs. Lovato Jr.” main event on Saturday at SSE Arena in London. Meanwhile, British knockout artist Paul Daley squares off with Erick Silva in the welterweight co-headliner.
