UFC Fight Night 79 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from UFC Seoul
Rise and shine.
For American MMA fans, UFC Fight Night 79's timing was cruel and unusual. The card, taking place in Seoul, South Korea, started Saturday morning at 5 a.m. Eastern Time. And not just any Saturday morning. It was the Saturday morning after Black Friday, which itself is the day after Thanksgiving. It's like a gauntlet of things that make American people tired.
But intrepid early risers were rewarded with a fight card that exceeded expectations. There were finishes, close fights and moments galore, all before the backdrop of a colorful Korean crowd.
The culminating fight was a main event between Jorge Masvidal and former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson. But there were several other moments.
If you chose to sleep in, take heart. We got up, and we got you. These are UFC Fight Night 79's real winners and losers.
As always, full card results appear on the final slide.
Winner: Benson Henderson
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"We're gonna keep this rolling."
Those were the words Benson Henderson spoke to broadcaster Kenny Florian in the cage after taking a close split decision from Jorge Masvidal.
Those words were loaded with subtext.
This was the final fight on Henderson's current UFC contract. The 32-year-old is now widely expected to test the free-agency market, with Bellator potentially a strong landing spot, according to Justin Faux of the Roar.
Henderson paired the words with another loaded gesture: He laid his gloves on the Octagon floor, which is a move generally considered a sign of retirement. In this case, could it mean a UFC departure?
We'll have to wait and see what materializes and what was just a misreading of the old tea leaves. For now, after yet another grueling but skillful win, Henderson looks like he's in prime position to maximize his value wherever he goes next.
Loser: Jorge Masvidal
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Despite the loss, this could have easily been considered a moral victory of sorts for Jorge Masvidal.
Henderson was originally scheduled to face Thiago Alves at this main event. Two weeks ago, however, Alves fractured a rib and had to withdraw. Enter Masvidal, who was scheduled to face Dong Hyun Kim on the co-main event—a fight that was not slated for five rounds, as was the main event.
One has to figure a Benson Henderson fight is going to go the distance, and this one did. Masvidal faded a bit down the stretch but fought well throughout. Particularly impressive was his takedown defense and defensive grappling, as Masvidal proved nigh impossible to control for a very strong wrestler in Henderson.
Masvidal scored with good striking combinations throughout but never mounted a definitive offensive sequence. Hence the close-by, in this observer's opinion, clear-decision win for Bendo.
Still, Masvidal proved he was capable of hanging with a top competitor for 25 minutes. As MMA analyst Danny Acosta tweeted after the fight, "Masvidal only had one week to prepare for 25 minute fight. Mad respect. Keep Gamebred fighting big names. Deserves it."
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim
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This fight? Well, it was not competitive.
No offense intended to Dominic Waters, the Jackson-Winkeljohn welterweight who took this fight on short notice after an injury-related reshuffling sent Masvidal to the main event, but he was overmatched from the moment these two made contact.
Waters clinched Kim along the fence, but Kim, a judo black belt, flipped the script with a beautiful trip. Just an instant after they hit the mat, Kim had Waters in the highly compromising crucifix position. A rain of unanswered blows to the head later and the ref had seen enough.
Another impressive win for Kim, this time in front of his home-nation faithful. In speaking with Florian in the cage after the fight, Kim called for a rematch with Demian Maia—the jiu-jitsu ace who bested him in 2012. I believe I'd watch that.
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Winner: Yoshihiro Akiyama
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Yoshihiro Akiyama lost a close but fairly clear decision to Alberto Mina in front of a legion of fans.
So why is he a winner?
A multimedia star in Korea, Sexyama looked as good as he has in a long time at the age of 41. And I don't just mean physically, though he was in great shape and remains, as always, quite the handsome man.
He dished out plenty of punishment on the younger, more aggressive Mina, purpling Mina's thigh with leg kicks and later mixing in a heavy uppercut that dropped the Brazilian more than once.
Akiyama might even have won if this was under a scoring system that rewarded sheer damage. But as it is, Mina produced enough offense to take a split decision. In the process, though, Akiyama, despite now losing five of his last six, showed that he is still a viable fighter even at this advanced age. That's particularly true in Seoul, where he remains as big a star as there is in MMA.
Loser: Doo Ho Choi
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Don't let the quasi-bowl cut or the silly smile fool you. And definitely don't let those skinny limbs be deceptive.
The Korean Super Boy, Doo Ho Choi, uses those arms like whips, and he whipped Sam Sicilia in the first round of the main card opener, taking a TKO in only 1:33.
That's now Choi's second first-round knockout in two UFC fights.
Now for the loser part. Despite signing with the UFC two years ago, Super Boy only has two UFC fights under his belt. That's mainly thanks to injuries and "undisclosed reasons" on Choi's part. This is the third time the UFC has scheduled this fight with Sicilia.
Whether it's health or something else, here's hoping the 24-year-old blue-chipper has everything sorted out. The iron is hot now for Choi, and we know he can strike. Just do it, Super Boy.
Loser: "The Other" Dong Hyun Kim
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It didn't go as well for the new Dong Hyun Kim as it did for the old Dong Hyun Kim.
Not to be confused with the UFC veteran who shares his name and weight class and who won the day's co-main event, this Kim made his UFC debut at Fight Night 79.
But that debut ended in the third round when Dominique Steele dazed Kim with a slam to the mat and then finished him with ground strikes.
Credit Kim for stepping in on short notice to face a dangerous, if unheralded, opponent in Steele. If there's any silver lining to his loss, it's that MMA media members don't have to worry anytime soon about an ultraconfusing Kim vs. Kim matchup.
UFC Fight Night 79 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Benson Henderson def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision
Dong Hyun Kim def. Dominic Waters by TKO, 3:11, Round 1
Alberto Mina def. Yoshihiro Akiyama by split decision
Doo Ho Choi def. Sam Sicilia by TKO, 0:33, Round 1
Preliminary Card
Dongi Yang def. Jake Collier by TKO, 1:50, Round 2
Mike De La Torre def. Yui Chul Nam by split decision
Tae Hyun Bang def. Leo Kuntz by split decision
Seo Hee Ham def. Cortney Casey by unanimous decision
Fredy Serrano def. Yao Zhikui by TKO (injury), 0:44, Round 1
Marco Beltran def. Ning Guangyou by split decision
Dominique Steele def. Dong Hyun Kim by KO, 0:27, Round 3
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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