UFC Singapore 2023 Results: Max Holloway gets career-best KO, The Korean Zombie bids emotional farewell

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Singapore, August 28: Max Holloway stopped The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung in main event of UFC Singapore 2023: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on Saturday (August 26) night.

The packed venue witnessed seven of thirteen fights end in stoppages, including the main event that also saw the veteran Korean Zombie bring down the curtains on his UFC career, ending with the fight of the night bonus.

While Holloway vs The Korean Zombie received the fight of the night, Justin Tafa and Michal Oleksiejczuk also pocketed an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the under card.

Fans packed the Singapore Indoor Stadium once again for a thrilling card that delivered heaps of entertainment. From a bevy of new Asian talent, to a legend of the sport retiring, UFC Singapore in 2023 will long be remembered as a pivotal night in the sport. Here is a recap of the event.

In the main event of UFC Singapore 2023, two of the best, most thrilling featherweights on the planet gave the fans in Singapore exactly what they came for.

Former UFC interim featherweight champion No. 1 ranked Holloway and No. 8 ranked Sung Jung lined up their shots with laser sights to a crowd on their feet with chanting.

Things got dicey in the second for The Korean Zombie, who somehow survived a knockdown and choke from Holloway - true zombie stye. In the third, it was do-or-die, and they came out swinging, with Holloway's right landing first, knocking out Jung.

Following the stoppage, Holloway said, "Lahaina, Maui, this one's for you! I used the red shorts, please share it to the world and help my fellow Hawaiians.

"The last two weeks, I had a lot of emotion. The spirit of it was with me here tonight. He's a crazy Zombie for a reason. The man's a myth, the man's a legend. I'm just glad my right hand landed before his did."

Meanwhile, Jung took off his gloves and announced his retirement saying, "I am going to stop fighting. I've always wanted to become champion when I first started the sport.

"I'm not here to be ranked third, fourth or fifth. I tried my absolute best to prepare for Max Holloway. I really, really believed I could beat him, but I ended up failing. I don't think I have the opportunity anymore, so I think I'm going to stop right now."

In the co-main event, the rematch between light heavyweight knockout artists #8 Anthony Smith and #10 Ryan Spann showcased a significantly different affair than the first meeting.

Both landed powerful, accurate headshots through the first round, and Spann began to rack up the damage in the second. Unbelievably they made it to the final bell and to the judges, who scored it a split decision for Smith.

After earning the scores, Smith said: "I'm a 35-year old man, I'm a dad, I've got fifty fights, what are you booing for? I said it before: Ryan Spann is physically better than me. After he damaged me in the second round, I had to regroup and make the decision to get through it. Give it up to Ryan Spann."

Also on the main card, Giga Chikadze, Rinya Nakamura and Erin Blanchfield earned decision wins in their respective bouts after Junior Tafa finished Parker Porter in the first round of a heavyweight bout that opened the main card.

In fact, Japan's own Nakamura put his undefeated record up against Fernie Garcia at bantamweight, and walked away unscathed after a dominant performance of powerful kicks and smothering grappling, winning a unanimous decision.

On the preliminary card, Welterweights Song Kenan and Ronaldo Bedoya stood in the pocket with intentions to KO, then started chopping each other's legs.

The bad intentions continued into the second and third, with Bedoya blasting inside leg kicks and Song headhunting. Song's late knockdown earned him the nod from all three judges.

Also, featherweight strikers SeungWoo Choi and Jarno Errens went go toe-to-toe in the opening fight, and by the final round, Choi had surged ahead with a knockdown and near submission to earn the win from all three judges.

The other bouts on the prelims ended in stoppages as Waldo Cortes-Acosta, Garrett Armfield, Oleksiejczuk, Billy Goff and JJ Aldrich all claimed a TKO or KO win in their respective bouts. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Singapore 2023:

UFC Singapore 2023 Results

Main Card

1. Featherweight Bout: Max Holloway defeats Chan Sung Jung by KO (right hand) at 0:23 of Round 3

2. Light Heavyweight Bout: Anthony Smith (29-28, 29-28) defeats Ryan Spann (29-28) by split decision

3. Featherweight Bout: Giga Chikadze defeats Alex Caceres by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

4. Bantamweight Bout: Rinya Nakamura defeats Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

5. Women's Flyweight Bout: Erin Blanchfield defeats Taila Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

6. Heavyweight Bout: Junior Tafa defeats Parker Porter by KO (strikes) at 1:24 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

1. Heavyweight Bout: Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Lukasz Brzeski by KO (right hand) at 3:01 of Round 1

2. Bantamweight Bout: Garrett Armfield defeats Toshiomi Kazama by TKO (right hand) at 4:16 of Round 1

3. Middleweight Bout: Michal Oleksiejczuk defeats Chidi Njokuani by TKO (strikes) at 4:16 of Round 1

4. Welterweight Bout: Song Kenan defeats Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

5. Welterweight Bout: Billy Goff defeats Yusaku Kinoshita by TKO (body shot) at 3:49 of Round 1

6. Women's Flyweight Bout: JJ Aldrich defeats Liang Na by TKO (strikes) at 4:49 of Round 2

7. Featherweight Bout: SeungWoo Choi defeats Jarno Errens by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)