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Go Seok-hyun (33), nicknamed "Technical," who tasted his first bitter defeat in the UFC, returns to the Octagon after four months to reclaim his pride.
Go Seok-hyun, a UFC welterweight (77.1 kg) fighter who rose through Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), will face "The Prodigy" Wellington Tourman (30, Brazil) on the undercard of 'UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker' at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on the 8th (Korean time).
Go Seok-hyun (13 wins, 3 losses), who had been on a two-fight winning streak in the UFC, gritted his teeth after losing by unanimous decision to Jean-Paul Reboursinoyani last July.
He returned to training immediately upon returning home after the loss and accepted the fight offer right away. Although he got married last August and became a newlywed, with his wife's full support, he skipped his honeymoon and dove straight into his training camp. His new nickname, "Technical," was also given to him by his wife.
He aims to correct the mistakes from his previous fight. At a Korean online press conference held on the 4th, Go Seok-hyun identified his focus solely on targeting his opponent's head for a finish as the reason for his loss. He reflected, "I should have fought using more diverse methods, but my vision had become too narrow." To overcome this, he has intensified his martial arts technique training and strength exercises.
Tourman (18 wins, 8 losses) is a veteran who has been active in the UFC for over seven years. A teammate of former UFC middleweight-light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, he trains under former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. He entered martial arts through Muay Thai and holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Of his 18 wins, 12 were finishes, eight of which were by submission.
Go Seok-hyun is a grappler with a judo base who won the Combat Sambo division at the 2017 International Sambo Federation (FIAS) World Sambo Championships. However, he analyzed that caution is required even when securing top position, given Tourman's excellent jiu-jitsu skills.
Regarding Tourman, he said, "As a fighter who has been active in the UFC for a long time, he is well-rounded," and predicted, "Because he has many submission wins, I think we need to be wary of surprise submissions."
Although he is preparing thoroughly, his confidence is high. Go Seok-hyun stated, "(Compared to Tourman) I am ahead in every aspect, with no weaknesses." Overseas bookmakers currently estimate Go Seok-hyun's probability of winning at over 85%.
Go Seok-hyun arrived in Las Vegas last week and began adjusting to the time difference. He is finalizing his preparations with Habbas MMA coach Lee Jung-won and teammate Kim Sang-wook, who was the runner-up in the ROAD TO UFC Season 4 lightweight tournament. Go Seok-hyun declared, "I believe I have overcome my shortcomings through training," adding, "Thank you for your support; inspired by it, we will show you a great fight."
In this event's main event, UFC heavyweight (120.2 kg) ranked No. 6 "Salsa Boy" Waldo Cortes Acosta (35, Dominican Republic) will face Johnny Walker (34, Brazil). This matchup was hastily arranged one week before the fight after the original main event between Gabriel Bonfim and Sean Brady was canceled due to an injury to Brady.
The firepower exchange between strikers with different styles is drawing attention. Cortes Acosta (17 wins, 4 losses), a former professional baseball player, is a striker with excellent boxing-based techniques. Nine of his 17 wins were by KO. Johnny Walker (23 wins, 10 losses, 1 no contest), who was a UFC light heavyweight ranked fighter, boasts explosive striking based on Muay Thai. Eighteen of his 23 wins were finishes by KO, resulting in an impressive finish rate of 91%.
The 'UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker' event, featuring Go Seok-hyun, will be broadcast live on tvN SPORTS and TVING starting at 7:30 a.m. on November 8.
■ UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker Matchup
Main Card (tvN SPORTS/TVING 10:00 a.m.)
[Heavyweight] #6 Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Johnny Walker
[Women's Strawweight] #2 Tatiana Suarez vs #3 Verna Zandirova
[Bantamweight] David Grant vs Elijah Smith
[Light Heavyweight] Billy Elakana vs Lucas Fernando
[Women's Bantamweight] Priscila Cachoeira vs Nina Milosevic
Undercard (tvN SPORTS/TVING 7:30 a.m.)
[Featherweight] Nakamura Keiichiro vs Ollie Schmidt
[Heavyweight] Gabriel Lorenzo vs Thomas Petersen
[Women's Flyweight] #11 Karine Silva vs #14 Gabriela Fernandes
[Featherweight] George Dellanoe vs Murazali Magomedov
[Featherweight] Austin Vash vs Carlos Calderon
[Middleweight] Mantas Kondratavicius vs Andre Petroski
[Welterweight] Go Seok-hyun vs Wellington Tourman
Fight Pass Undercard (UFC Fight Pass 7:00 a.m.)
[Welterweight] Johnny Parsons vs George Souza
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
