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Will fight vs. Kody Steele
Zhu will fight against Kody Steele at UFC 312 on Feb. 8, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Zhu was released from his UFC deal following a loss to Ignacio Bahamondes in 2022, and he also lost to Chris Padilla in his return to the promotion on Sep. 7, 2024. He's gone 25-6-0 as a pro in his career, but he's only 24 years old and has a lot of mileage in his body with more than 30 pro fights under his belt. Plus, he's gone 1-3-0 at the UFC level.
Zhu was released from his UFC deal following a loss to Ignacio Bahamondes in 2022, and he also lost to Chris Padilla in his return to the promotion on Sep. 7, 2024. He's gone 25-6-0 as a pro in his career, but he's only 24 years old and has a lot of mileage in his body with more than 30 pro fights under his belt. Plus, he's gone 1-3-0 at the UFC level.
Falls as hefty favorite
Rong lost to Chris Padilla via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 4:14 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
To say Rong needed this one would be a massive understatement. He was fresh off a submission loss to Ignacio Bahamondes in a fight in which he missed weight. He entered as a -260 favorite and still couldn't get the job done. Rong was plenty competitive in Round 1, but repeated massive elbows to the same eye result in referee Kerry Hatley calling in the doctor late in Round 2 and the fight being immediately stopped. Rong is just 24 years old, but has north of 30 professional fights under his belt. He has zero success of defeating better competition, and that seems unlikely to change given all the "MMA miles" on his body at such a young age.
To say Rong needed this one would be a massive understatement. He was fresh off a submission loss to Ignacio Bahamondes in a fight in which he missed weight. He entered as a -260 favorite and still couldn't get the job done. Rong was plenty competitive in Round 1, but repeated massive elbows to the same eye result in referee Kerry Hatley calling in the doctor late in Round 2 and the fight being immediately stopped. Rong is just 24 years old, but has north of 30 professional fights under his belt. He has zero success of defeating better competition, and that seems unlikely to change given all the "MMA miles" on his body at such a young age.
UFC return scheduled
Zhu is scheduled to compete against Chris Padilla in a lightweight fight at UFC Vegas 97 on Sept. 7, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
After losing to Ignacio Bahamondes in February 2022, Zhu was released by the UFC. But not long after his release, he entered Season 2 of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts event for Asian fighters wanting to enter the promotion. Zhu won Season 2's lightweight tournament, earning another UFC contract and a scheduled return against Padilla.
After losing to Ignacio Bahamondes in February 2022, Zhu was released by the UFC. But not long after his release, he entered Season 2 of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts event for Asian fighters wanting to enter the promotion. Zhu won Season 2's lightweight tournament, earning another UFC contract and a scheduled return against Padilla.
Loses after massive weight miss
Rong lost to Ignacio Bahamondes via submission (Brabo choke) at 1:40 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Rong is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster and won't turn 22 years of age until early next month, but this was his second straight weight miss, and the company brass typically has little patience for that type of stuff. Rong checked in at 160 pounds -- four pounds over the lightweight limit -- on Friday morning and then handed over 40 percent of his purse to Bahamondes in order for the fight to proceed. If that's not bad enough, he was dominated for the duration of the bout before being choked out early in Round 3. You can dream on Rong's potential because of his age, but nothing else matters until he gets his weight cutting issues under control. Perhaps the UFC will force him to move up to welterweight for his next fight.
Rong is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster and won't turn 22 years of age until early next month, but this was his second straight weight miss, and the company brass typically has little patience for that type of stuff. Rong checked in at 160 pounds -- four pounds over the lightweight limit -- on Friday morning and then handed over 40 percent of his purse to Bahamondes in order for the fight to proceed. If that's not bad enough, he was dominated for the duration of the bout before being choked out early in Round 3. You can dream on Rong's potential because of his age, but nothing else matters until he gets his weight cutting issues under control. Perhaps the UFC will force him to move up to welterweight for his next fight.
Fight going on minus some money
Zhu will forfeit 40 percent of his purse for Saturday's bout versus Ignacio Bahamondes but the fight will go on as scheduled, MMAJunkie.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Zhu missed weight by four pounds even with the one-pound buffer for non-title fights, so this was a pretty big miss. He'll forfeit a large chunk of his purse as a result and it certainly won't help his chances of staying in the promotion considering it's his second time missing weight in just three UFC bouts.
Zhu missed weight by four pounds even with the one-pound buffer for non-title fights, so this was a pretty big miss. He'll forfeit a large chunk of his purse as a result and it certainly won't help his chances of staying in the promotion considering it's his second time missing weight in just three UFC bouts.