'Zombie Junior' Yoo Ju-sang to clash with '89% KO' Rahiki in Australia... Aiming for second UFC victory

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

UFC featherweight (65.8 kg) fighter "Zombie Junior" Yoo Ju-sang (32) is aiming for his second UFC victory in an away bout in Australia.

Yoo will face "Freaky" Marwan Rahiki (24, Morocco) at the "UFC Fight Night: Salcido vs. Saint-Denis" event held on February 7 next year (Korean time) at Aftershock Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia. This marks his return to the Octagon after five months, following a split decision loss to Michael Aswell Jr. last September.

He aims to defeat Marwan Rahiki on home turf and break his losing streak. Yoo Ju-sang (9 wins, 2 losses) fell into a two-fight losing skid after securing a KO victory with a Performance of the Night bonus against Zeca Saragi in his UFC debut. He suffered his first career loss last October via KO to Daniel Santos. He then collapsed once more against Aswell Jr., sinking into a two-fight losing streak.

Marwan Rahiki (9 wins, 1 loss) also seeks a turnaround in Sydney, where he has resided for five years. He is a rising star who signed with the UFC through Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) last year. After an eight-finish winning streak, he suffered a decision loss following a war of attrition against undefeated prospect Tommy McMillan last September.

A fierce striking battle is expected between boxing-based Yoo Ju-sang and kickboxing-based Rahiki. Yoo learned boxing starting from middle school. Even after transitioning to mixed martial arts (MMA), he boasts powerful punching ability, having secured four of his nine wins by KO. In 2024, he KO'd Kawana Masto with a single right straight punch at domestic organization ZFN, catching the eye of UFC President Dana White and entering the UFC through "Dana White: The Last Contender."

Rahiki, who enjoyed street fights during his school days, began learning kickboxing at age 14. Feeling that the MMA foundation in Morocco was lacking, he moved to Australia alone at age 19. He subsequently learned jiu-jitsu and developed as an MMA fighter, but striking remains his main specialty. Eight of his nine wins are KO victories, ending fights with diverse strikes including punches, kicks, elbows, and knee strikes.

The ROAD TO UFC Season 5 final will be held on the undercard of the UFC Fight Night Sydney event. ROAD TO UFC is a tournament providing a pathway to the UFC for promising Asian-Pacific fighters, where eight competitors across four weight classes compete for UFC contracts. From Korea, "Rush" Park Bo-hyun (27) will compete in the women's strawweight (52.2 kg) final, facing Meng Bo (30, China).

In the main event of this tournament, UFC lightweight (70.3 kg) ranked No. 7 Quillan Salkeld (26, Australia) will clash with No. 6 Benoît Saint-Denis (30, France). In the co-main event, Robert Whittaker (35, Australia), former UFC middleweight (83.9 kg) champion and current light heavyweight (93 kg) ranked No. 11, will face No. 8 Bogdan Gusakov (34, Uzbekistan).

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original