UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie - Predictions and Picks

The UFC’s latest trip to Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island goes down this weekend and sees a long-awaited Featherweight clash in the main event.

After an initial attempt to book the fight in 2019 fell through, former UFC Featherweight title contenders Brian Ortega and The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung will finally face off.

The rest of the card looks worth watching, too, with a healthy mix of exciting up-and-comers and gritty veterans.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Island 6: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie.

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#1 UFC Featherweight Division: Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung

UFC Fight Night The Korean Zombie v Rodriguez

As was previously mentioned, the UFC has tried to book this fight before. Ortega and Jung were set to main event UFC Fight Night 165 in South Korea last December, but Ortega ended up withdrawing due to an injury. Jung stayed on the card and smacked Frankie Edgar around, and it was always expected that the UFC would look to re-book the fight at some point in the future.

It’s surprising that it’s taken this long – the best part of a year – for the UFC to follow through with the booking. It should also come as a surprise to most that things have heated up between the two men, making this a highly personal encounter.

Essentially, things turned nasty back in March, when reports suggested that Ortega assaulted Jung’s Korean translator Jay Park after an interview that saw The Korean Zombie claim T-City was afraid of him. Park clearly wasn’t at fault and isn’t a fighter, so to see the usually mild-mannered Ortega behave like this was stunning.

For his part, Jung then threatened Ortega via Instagram, promising to bloody his face in their eventual fight. Essentially then, a fight between two of the UFC’s supposedly nicer fighters has suddenly become full of bad blood. But who will win?

The most worrying thing for Ortega here is the fact that it’s been so long since he last set foot inside the Octagon. His last bout saw him challenge unsuccessfully for the UFC Featherweight title back at UFC 231 in October 2018.

That fight saw T-City take a ludicrous amount of punishment at the hands of Max Holloway, and so an extended leave of absence from the UFC clearly made sense. But being out for the best part of two years just doesn’t bode well for how he’ll respond in his first fight back.

The other issue for him is that The Korean Zombie is a very dangerous pressure-fighter. He’s obviously not unbeatable, but he has very sharp boxing, and he’s more than willing to push forward and string combinations together continually.

Like Ortega, he’s been out of the UFC for a while, but his 10-month layoff is nowhere near as long as Ortega’s has been. And the last time we did see him, he looked sharper than ever. Jung needed just over three minutes to dispatch of the notoriously tough Edgar. And while the former UFC Lightweight champ is past his prime, to knock him out that quickly is still hugely impressive.

Another thing swinging this fight towards Jung is the fact that he’s a highly underrated grappler. Sure, The Korean Zombie is far more widely known for his striking prowess, but it’s easy to forget that he’s also the owner of two of the most memorable submissions in UFC history.

2011 saw him tap out Leonard Garcia with the UFC’s first-ever twister, while 2012 saw him submit Dustin Poirier with one of Poirier’s favored holds – the D’Arce choke.

Is he as good on the ground as Ortega? Well, probably not. An extremely high-level black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Ortega has seven submissions to his name and has tapped out top-level grapplers like Renato Moicano and Cub Swanson in the UFC.

If Jung puts himself into a bad position then, can Ortega snatch up a submission and get him out of there? For sure. And if The Korean Zombie can’t finish T-City, then even if he’s far ahead on the scorecards, he can’t afford to relax. Moicano, Swanson, and Clay Guida all had the beating of Ortega before he somehow pulled off a miraculous finish.

Overall, if Ortega hadn’t spent so much time out of action, then I’d be far more tempted to pick him to win. Skill-for-skill, he doesn’t match up too badly with the Zombie and arguably has the more impressive UFC wins to his name.

After two years on the shelf, though? I’m not so sure. Jung is certainly the superior striker in this fight, and if he can stop Ortega from taking him down and put the kind of pressure on T-City that Holloway did, then Ortega is probably in trouble.

It’s a very tight fight to call, and I could see it going either way, but I’m taking The Korean Zombie to win this one by stoppage.

The Pick: Jung via fourth-round TKO

#2 UFC Heavyweight Division: Ciryl Gane vs. Ante Delija

Ciryl Gane could be a future contender for the UFC Heavyweight title. (Image credits: Jeff Bottari, UFC)

In a world not affected by COVID-19, it’s not hard to imagine that France’s Gane might be a contender for the UFC Heavyweight title right now. Bon Gamin debuted in the UFC last year after just three professional fights, but right away, it was clear that he belonged.

Sporting the physique of a 1980’s cartoon character, Gane smacked around Raphael Pessoa, Don’Tale Mayes, and Tanner Boser in the space of just five months in 2019, out-striking all three comfortably and even submitting Pessoa and Mayes for good measure.

However, his 2020 has been plagued by both injuries and fight cancelations. The UFC has tried to book him against Shamil Abdurakhimov – a solid test by anyone’s standards – three times this year, only for the fight to fall through each time. This weekend has seen the Dagestani withdraw again, hence Gane facing off with the largely unknown Ante Delija.

A native of Croatia, Delija – who sports the cool nickname of Walking Trouble – has a solid record at least. He’s 17-3, with a professional MMA career dating back to 2011. With 20 fights to his name, he has more than triple the experience of Gane. But will that be enough?

In all honesty, it’s highly unlikely. While Delija isn’t exactly a small man – he’s billed as being 6’5” and 251lbs – he doesn’t appear to be the biggest Heavyweight, looking like a better diet could bring his weight down somewhat. And he also doesn’t appear to be the greatest natural athlete.

However, based on the footage I’ve seen, his lack of striking defense is the most worrying thing. Walking Trouble appears to be a power puncher first and foremost, and an aggressive one at that. However, swinging wild, powerful punches at someone as pinpoint as Gane is almost certain to get him into trouble.

Judging from his previous UFC outings, Gane has the ability to hurt an opponent in all areas. His striking from the outside is lethal, as Boser and Mayes found out when they ate numerous long punches from a distance. But he’s also highly nasty from close range, using his height and reach to deliver knees and elbows from inside the clinch.

And of course, that isn’t even mentioning his ground game. When he debuted in the UFC, people suspected that could be a weakness – but instead Bon Gamin submitted a solid grappler in Pessoa and then repeated the feat against Mayes.

Essentially, for Delija to win this fight, he’s probably going to have to knock Gane out in one shot. And while he’s got far more experience than the Frenchman, to see him do that in his UFC debut – particularly after nearly a year on the shelf – is just not likely to happen. Instead, I suspect this will be a quick win for Gane, setting up big things for him in the near future.

The Pick: Gane via first-round TKO

#3 UFC Flyweight Division: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jessica Andrade

Can Katlyn Chookagian pick apart former UFC champ Jessica Andrade?

Initially, former UFC Strawweight champ Jessica Andrade was booked against former UFC Flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye on this show in her first test at 125lbs. However, with Eye out due to an injury, Bate Estaca is now set to face another former UFC title contender in the form of Chookagian. Does this make it a tougher fight for her? Perhaps.

Andrade, ever since her UFC debut way back in 2013, has essentially fought like a female version of prime Wanderlei Silva. Essentially, the Brazilian tends to wade forward, winging power hooks at her foe with the premise being that while her chin will usually hold up to whatever they throw back, their chin won’t.

For the most part, that gameplan has worked for Bate Estaca, at least since she dropped down to 115lbs back in 2016. Andrade was jabbed to death by Joanna Jedrzejczyk in their fight, but then parlayed that punching power to UFC wins over Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Interestingly, it was painfully clear that Andrade was actually overmatched from a technical standpoint in two of those fights. Both Torres and Gadelha were able to land clean combinations, but simply wilted under Andrade’s power and ended up losing clear-cut decisions.

Bate Estaca was obviously able to win the UFC Strawweight title by slamming Rose Namajunas onto her head, but the win certainly had somewhat of a fluke about it. Thug Rose had been piecing her up prior to the slam, which was enabled by a mistake from the champion.

However, Andrade’s aura of invincibility was very much shattered in her first UFC title defense. She was shellacked by Weili Zhang, essentially finding herself outgunned despite attempting her usual gameplan. Magnum knocked her out in just under a minute, taking her title away, and most recently, we saw her largely picked apart by Namajunas in a rematch.

The big question here is whether Andrade’s move up to 125lbs can re-energize her career, or whether it’s a move too far for her. It’s hard to imagine her changing her style up at this stage. She’s fought in the UFC on 17 occasions over the past seven years and has always used that berserker gameplan, so this match should be determined by how that style meshes with Chookagian’s.

And for me, it doesn’t mesh well. Chookagian isn’t the perfect fighter – she hasn’t finished a single opponent in the UFC despite going 7-2 overall. But Blonde Fighter does what she does very well. Essentially, she’s a point-fighter, using her sizeable range and height to pick her opponents off from the outside.

As we saw in her most recent UFC outing against Antonina Shevchenko, Chookagian is also a considerable grappler. She wasted no time in taking Shevchenko down and thoroughly whitewashed her on the mat – basically doing everything but pick up a finish.

Given the only opponent to stop her was the current UFC Flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko then, it’s hard to imagine Andrade simply destroying Chookagian with her usual berserker rush. And if she can’t do that, then how can she win? She’s simply not big and strong enough to outpower ‘Blonde Fighter,’ and there’s every chance that Chookagian simply jabs her to death as Namajunas and Jedrzejczyk did.

Overall, I can’t see Chookagian picking up her first UFC finish here, but I’m betting that she’ll pick up an impressive win over a former UFC champion in the way of a lopsided decision.

The Pick: Chookagian via unanimous decision

#4 UFC Light Heavyweight Division: Jimmy Crute vs. Modestas Bukauskas

Jimmy Crute is one of the UFC's best prospects at 205lbs.

Over the past handful of years, the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division has garnered a reputation for being full of aging fighters past their prime or coming towards the end of their career. It’s maybe a fair point when you consider the likes of Glover Teixeira, Anthony Smith, Mauricio Rua, and Ovince St. Preux are still near the top of the tree. Even new champ Jan Blachowicz is no spring chicken at the age of 37.

However, there are a handful of younger prospects worth watching at 205lbs, and these are two of the brighter ones in the UFC. Of the two, Australia’s Crute has more UFC experience despite being two years younger.

After winning his fight on Dana White’s Contender Series by knockout, The Brute debuted in a wild fight against Paul Craig, eventually submitting the Scotsman with a kimura. The win was especially impressive given Craig’s considerable grappling skills.

Since then, Crute has gone 2-1. He knocked out Sam Alvey at UFC 234 and most recently submitted kickboxer Michal Oleksiejczuk. And even his lone loss – a submission to Misha Cirkunov – was nothing to be ashamed of.

That fight saw Crute put up a tremendous fight, putting the dangerous grappler in some bad positions before succumbing to what was a low-percentage move in the form of a Peruvian necktie.

Overall, Crute hits extremely hard, carrying KO power in his hands, but he’s also a sneakily dangerous grappler, particularly from the top position, and is willing to scramble hard. As he’s 11-1 and has only been fighting since 2016, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we haven’t really seen his chin tested. So can Bukauskas change that?

A native of Lithuania, The Baltic Gladiator, impressed in his UFC debut, a TKO win over Andreas Michailidis. He used some heavy elbows from top position to finish that fight – the eighth TKO of his career. Bukauskas is a striker by trade, tending to use long, hard punches to his advantage.

However, it’s worth noting that the Lithuanian doesn’t have great defense. He’s been KO’d earlier in his career prior to joining the UFC, and Michailidis also gave him plenty of trouble with his counterpunches despite not being the cleanest striker in his own right.

Given The Baltic Gladiator only has an inch of reach and height on Crute, it seems tricky to imagine him picking The Brute off from the outside. And if he can’t do that, then I suspect the Australian will have the upper hand. Not only does he hit hard, but if he can get Bukauskas to the ground, then the Lithuanian is likely to be in deep trouble.

Overall, I just can’t see enough ways for Bukauskas to win this fight, whereas Crute has plenty of ways to find a victory – even if he’s still a little raw and rough around the edges. I’m taking Crute to pick up another stoppage win here.

The Pick: Crute via first-round submission

#5 UFC Bantamweight Division: Thomas Almeida vs. Jonathan Martinez

Thomas Almeida was once considered one of the UFC's top prospects.

In a lot of ways, 2015 doesn’t exactly seem that long ago, but in the world of the UFC, in a five-year period like that, so many things can change. And the changing fortunes of Thomas Almeida sum that up perfectly.

2015 ended with Almeida knocking out Anthony Birchak to take his record to 20-0. The Brazilian looked every part the next big UFC Bantamweight contender, and indeed, he was pushed into his first UFC main event in mid-2016, taking on Cody Garbrandt.

Of course, Garbrandt then knocked him out, and while he rebounded later that year with a win over Albert Morales, he’s since lost his last two fights and hasn’t fought since another KO loss at the hands of Rob Font in January 2018. Almeida is still only 29 and clearly has a lot to offer, but how far he can go now is anyone’s guess.

Thankfully, injuries haven’t been the reason for his long layoff. He’s instead had issues with his eyes, requiring surgery to fix his vision. So in that sense, the layoff may have done him some good. So given that Martinez is taking this fight on late notice – replacing the COVID-19 positive Alejandro Perez – is this a winnable fight for Almeida?

I would probably say it is. Martinez debuted in the UFC back in 2018, losing a tight decision to Andre Soukhamthath. Since then, he’s gone 3-1, and most recently took out Frankie Saenz in August. A fighter who relies primarily on his speed, Martinez is strong in all areas. However, he isn’t the kind of striking beast that’s given Almeida so many issues in his most recent fights.

There’s every chance that Almeida is simply no longer a UFC-level fighter, and if that’s the case, then Martinez will probably take him out quickly. But in reality, there’s no reason to suspect that’s the case. Sure, the Brazilian’s chin isn’t brilliant, but the men who KO’d him – Garbrandt and Font – hit very hard, and there’s no shame in a decision loss to Jimmie Rivera.

Almeida is still likely to have the same issues he’s always had – his raw aggression means he’s far too hittable to compete with the UFC’s heavier strikers. But I’m not sure that will be a problem against Martinez, who’s much more of a hit-and-move type despite winning his last fight by KO.

This should be a firefight, but unless Almeida is totally shot, then I’m picking him to take his first UFC victory since 2016.

The Pick: Almeida via second-round KO

#6 The Prelims: UFC on ESPN+ card

Newcomer Mateusz Gamrot headlines this weekend's prelims.

All of this weekend’s prelims will be shown live on the ESPN+ streaming service, and there will be a reported seven fights on tap. This could increase to eight if the UFC can find an opponent for David Zawada, but one hasn't been confirmed as of the time of writing.

At the top of the prelim card is a Lightweight clash between Mateusz Gamrot and Guram Kutateladze. Both men are making their UFC debuts here, meaning a pick is always going to be tricky. With that said, from the footage I’ve seen, I’m leaning towards Poland’s Gamrot.

He seems to be the more polished fighter in all areas, and at 17-0 with a lot of experience in a strong promotion in KSW, I think he should have enough here to pick up a UFC debut win, probably by decision.

At Flyweight, Gillian Robertson faces Poliana Botelho. This fight sees two decently well-rounded fighters facing off, but I’m favoring Robertson. She’s got far more experience than her opponent, and more to the point, Botelho hasn’t fought since April 2019. That’s a hell of a layoff, and Robertson is a very tricky opponent to return against. Given Botelho was trucked on the ground by Cynthia Calvillo, I think Robertson can repeat the trick and pick up a submission win.

In a Welterweight bout, Claudio Silva takes on James Krause. This is a tricky fight to pick. Silva – a Brazilian based in the UK – is a phenomenal grappler who knows how to finish, but he’s also somewhat slow and not the best athlete. Krause, meanwhile, is probably past his prime, but he’s dangerous in all areas and knows how to win fights.

Silva can definitely submit him if he can get him to the ground, but overall I’m favoring Krause’s gritty style to wear ‘Hannibal’ down, giving him his ninth UFC win, probably by decision.

At Middleweight, brawler John Phillips takes on Jun Yong Park. Obviously, the last time we saw Phillips, he was throttled by Khamzat Chimaev. Realistically he hasn’t proven himself as a UFC-level fighter, but he hits hard and can capitalize on mistakes. Park, though, is a hard worker with well-rounded skills and a willingness to push the pace. I’m not sure Phillips is going to be able to stay off his back in this fight, and so I’m taking Park by decision.

In a Lightweight clash, Jamie Mullarkey faces Farez Ziam. Australia’s Mullarkey has only fought once in the UFC – a loss to Brad Riddell – but he’s still a pretty excellent striker with a lot of speed, poise, and knockout power. France’s Ziam is also 0-1 in the UFC and has a similar amount of experience. This could go either way, but I’m taking Mullarkey via knockout.

At Light Heavyweight, Maxim Grishin drops to 205lbs to take on Ghadzimurad Antigulov. Antigulov is currently on a horrible run in the UFC, losing his last three bouts, all by finish, too. He’s a solid grappler but struggles due to a lack of athleticism and speed. Grishin had similar issues at Heavyweight, but should be far better down at 205lbs. I like him to win by submission here.

Finally, Mark Striegl faces Said Nurmagomedov in a Bantamweight bout. As you’d imagine, Nurmagomedov is a stifling grappler with plenty of punching power and a tremendous gas tank. He was beaten by Raoni Barcelos in his last fight, proving he’s no Khabib, but he’s still a tricky opponent. Meanwhile, Filipino fighter Striegl is a dangerous prospect making his UFC debut, but this looks like a bad fight for him stylistically as his background is in Sambo. And obviously, Nurmagomedov is a Sambo expert. I’ll take the Russian via decision here.