UFC Fight Night Greenville: Moicano vs Korean Zombie Odds and Picks

For the first time in UFC history, the Octagon will be set up at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Headlining the card is a bout in the featherweight division between Renato “Moicano” Carneiro and Chan Sung “Korean Zombie” Jung. Moicano is a -200 favorite with Korean Zombie coming back at +160. I have a breakdown and a pick for each fight on the main card.

Moicano vs Korean Zombie Fight Center

Renato Moicano vs Chan Sung Jung

Moicano (-200) is coming off the second loss of his professional career and is looking to avoid his first-ever losing slide. The Brazil native was submitted by Brian Ortega at UFC 214 in 2017, rattled off back-to-back victories and then was knocked out in the second round against Jose Aldo in February.

The 30-year-old is tall and lanky for the featherweight division and is very active. He averages 5.6 strikes per minute, landing 46 percent of his strikes while avoiding 67 percent of his opponents’ strikes. He throws a lot of kicks to try to slow down his foes and he does a good job with his head movement. Despite his active style, he has never earned a pro knockout and six of his 13 wins have been submissions.

Jung (+160) is looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since he lost two in a row in 2010. The Korean Zombie returned to the Octagon in 2017 after a four-year layoff while he did his mandatory military service for his country. He earned a quick first-round knockout over Dennis Bermudez in his return but was knocked out in the final second of a five-round war with Yair Rodriguez last November.

The South Korea native loves to get into wars with his opponents, never taking a step backward but planting himself just on the outside of his foes’ strikes. When they throw, he fires back with a flurry of punches, but he only lands 39 percent of his attacks. He never lets his opponents rest: the second they drop their hands for a quick breath, he swarms forward. He has good submission skills as well with eight of his 14 professional wins ending in that manner.

Both fighters do a great job conserving energy by not using a ton of extra energy in the standup department. They are calm on their feet, biding their time for opportunities to explode. Moicano is aggressive in seeking submissions, but Jung has never been finished in that manner, while the Korean Zombie’s wild strikes are powerful when he connects and Carneiro is coming off his first career knockout loss.

Prediction: Renato Moicano (-200) via decision

Moicano vs Korean Zombie Fight Center

John Lineker vs Rob Font

*This fight has been canceled after Rob Font suffered an injury.*

Lineker (-220) is looking to get back in the win column following his split-decision defeat to Cory Sandhagen in April. “Hands of Stone” had a six-fight winning streak between 2014 and 2016 that earned him a title shot against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 2017 on December 31, 2016. Lineker lost that fight by decision, won his next two and is coming off this most recent loss.

The Brazil native has a 12-4 record in the UFC overall dating back to 2012, with seven of those victories being finishes. He is an aggressive striker who averages 5.36 strikes per minute while also absorbing 4.27 strikes per minute. He sits down on all his punches looking to inflict as much damage as possible and because he’s a shorter fighter, he has to stand in the pocket, but along with being Hands of Stone, he has a granite chin, having never been knocked out.

Font (+170) is aiming to put an end to his win-one, lose-one streak over his last five fights and win back-to-back bouts for the first time since 2016-17. Over this current streak, the Massachusetts native lost to title contenders Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz, while his victories came against Douglas Silva de Andrade, Thomas Almeida and Sergio Pettis.

He uses his kicks to set up his hands, but he doesn’t throw his strikes with a lot of conviction. He averages 4.94 strikes per minute but only lands 40 percent of those attempts. Seven of his 16 pro wins have come by knockout and he has never lost in that manner. Font is very light on his feet and works well behind his jab when he is pumping it out, however, he has a tendency to not move his head when in striking range, which makes him a sitting target.

These two went to war for three rounds at UFC 198 in 2016 and Lineker outstruck Font 95-40 and also landed one takedown. Font doesn’t sit down enough on his strikes and they can come out a little slow because of that, while Lineker is the complete opposite and he got Font’s attention early and often in their first fight. That ended in a unanimous-decision win for Hands of Stone and I have a hard time seeing a different result this time.

Prediction: John Lineker (-220) via decision

Lineker vs Font Fight Center

Bryan Barberena vs Randy Brown

Barberena (-265) is hoping to avoid his first-ever losing skid and continue his win-one, lose-one streak over his last six fights. Most recently, “Bam Bam” slugged it out with the dangerous Vicente Luque in February and suffered his first career knockout loss with six seconds remaining in the fight. Before that loss, Barberena had earned a first-round knockout over Jake Ellenberger in August of last year.

The Minnesota native is first and foremost a brawler who likes to get in the pocket and exchange strikes. He lands 5.9 strikes per minute while also absorbing 4.76 strikes per minute and has landed 100 or more strikes in four of his last six bouts. Of his 14 professional wins, 10 have ended in a knockout, while only one of his losses has come that way. He does have an issue with wrestlers, though, stuffing just 47 percent of takedown attempts.

Brown (+205) has been on a win-one, lose-one streak over his last four fights and is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Niko Price in July of last year. That defeat was the first knockout loss for “Rude Boy” and it brought his UFC record to 4-3, but he has never lost two bouts in a row.

The Jamaica native tends to wait too long to get his strikes off, needing to completely close the distance and set up the perfect punch that sometimes never comes. Although Brown is an active fighter, he only lands 2.89 strikes per minute and he absorbs 2.37 strikes per minute. He does average nearly one takedown per 15 minutes, but only hits 41 percent of his attempts. He also stuffs 77 percent of takedown attempts against.

A little different approach for these two fighters, as Barberena marches forward looking to get into a phone booth and let his hands fly, daring his opponents to match him punch for punch, while Brown moves forward but will only engage when he has a clean Sportsbook. If Rude Boy pushes for the takedowns often, he may find success. However, he’s never landed more than one takedown in a fight. Bam Bam has power in his hands and will stand in the pocket looking to put Brown away.

Prediction: Bryan Barberena (-265) via knockout

Barberena vs Brown Fight Center

Andrea Lee vs Montana De La Rosa

Lee (-205) is looking to remain undefeated in the UFC. “KGB” has won her first two bouts in the Octagon in dominant fashion. Both of her victories have been by unanimous decision but there was little question before the scorecards were announced that it would be her hand that was raised. Overall, she has a six-fight winning streak dating back to 2017.

The Louisiana native has a lightning-fast jab and she does a fantastic job throwing combinations rather than just one punch at a time. She has a high output, averaging 5.57 strikes per minute, and she makes her opponents miss 69 percent of their attempts. Additionally, her cardio is very good and she maintains her great footwork and head movement even in the latter stages of the fight.

De La Rosa (+165) is attempting to move to 4-0 in the UFC and continue her four-fight finish streak. She made her Octagon debut on December 1 of 2017 and earned a quick, first-round submission and followed that up with two more submission victories over Rachael Ostovich and Nadia Kassem.

The 24-year-old is a high-octane fighter who storms out of the gate right at her opponent looking to close the distance and get her hands on her foe. She throws punches as she marches forward but her main goal is to get the fight to the floor where she can work toward a submission. Of her 10 professional wins, eight have been by submission and all three of her UFC fights have also ended in that manner.

A classic striker vs grappler fight with Lee looking to keep the fight on the feet, while De La Rosa aims to bring the fight to the canvas and work toward a submission. KGB has been taken down in each of her UFC fights, including twice against Ashlee Evans-Smith in February. The big question for this fight is who can execute their game plan better.

Prediction: Montana De La Rosa (+165) via submission

Lee vs De La Rosa Fight Center

Kevin Holland vs Alessio Di Chirico

Holland (-225) is looking for his third straight win after losing his UFC debut in August of last year. “Trailblazer” went the distance with light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos in his UFC debut, losing by unanimous decision, but has rattled off back-to-back victories, including a split-decision win over Gerald Meerschaert in March.

The Texas native utilizes his long reach well to maintain distance with his jab and front kicks. Holland is an elusive fighter, doing his best to stay at long range, and gets out of danger well with his solid footwork. He is also a very intelligent fighter, throwing a variety of different strikes to find areas of weakness in his opponents before going on the attack, and he has the ability to fight on the feet or on the floor.

Di Chirico (+175) seeks his first three-fight winning streak in the UFC as he returns to the Octagon for the first time since July of last year. The Italy native dropped two of his first three fights in the UFC but has rattled off back-to-back victories by knocking out Oluwale Bamgbose in December 2017 and following that up with a split-decision win over Julian Marquez last year.

The 28-year-old is a strong counter-striker on the feet, sitting back on his powerful left hand, and when he does go on the attack he uses solid kicks to open up his punches. “Manzo” has secured at least one takedown in four of his five fights in the Octagon and averages 2.48 per 15 minutes. However, he doesn’t do a great job maintaining top position after takedowns and isn’t very active on top either.

Holland should have a sizable advantage on the feet, but he only defends 50 percent of takedown attempts and was taken down six times by Gerald Meerschaert in March. Di Chirico’s standup has pretty decent power but is a little telegraphed and if he isn’t able to hold Trailblazer down, it could be a long night for Manzo.

Prediction: Kevin Holland (-225) via decision

Holland vs Di Chirico Fight Center

Here’s a look at the full list of odds for UFC Fight Night Greenville: Moicano vs Korean Zombie: