Max Holloway looks to remain in men's featherweight title contention as he faces the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Singapore on Saturday (8 a.m. ET on ESPN+, with prelims at 5 a.m. ET on ESPN+).
Holloway, ranked No. 2 in ESPN's divisional rankings, beat Arnold Allen by unanimous decision in April. Jung, unranked by ESPN, challenged Alexander Volkanovski for the division title in his last bout in April 2022 and lost by fourth-round knockout.
Brett Okamoto spoke to retired UFC welterweight Dan Hardy to get his perspective on the fight. ESPN's betting experts Reed Kuhn and Ian Parker add their insights and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets they like on the card.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Men's featherweight: Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung
Dan Hardy, retired UFC welterweight
How Holloway wins: He's got to establish his jab. Jung doesn't mind getting hit, and he leaves himself open to be hit. If I'm Holloway, I want to stay at arm's length and pick Jung apart with the jab. Do as much damage as I can without overextending myself, because Jung will try to counterpunch and come over the top of the jab. Holloway needs to feint and move in and out a bit. He should use the fighting style he used during his run as champion, gradually building up his attack. Holloway's more recent style of trying to start fast may not work here because he's more likely to walk onto something while Jung is fresh and hasn't taken any damage.
How Jung wins: I would be all about closing the distance and throwing first. Jung tends to wait too much. He is a beautiful counterpuncher, but he needs to push Holloway in the early rounds. Close him down and land those heavy hands. He'll also be confident to grapple in this matchup, which plays into him moving forward, even if he's just punching into the clinch. If he's not scoring and winning scorecards in the sense of accumulating damage, he needs to be forthright with his attack and make Holloway work more than he wants to in those early rounds.
X factor: Jung's ground game. Holloway has always had a good guillotine, but I don't think he wants to test Jung on the mat. His grappling is a bit of an enigma. I feel like there's more to it than what we've seen, and if Holloway tries to test it, he might be surprised.
Prediction: Holloway by decision.
Betting analysis
Kuhn: Max Holloway to win (-750); Over 1.5 rounds. Jung is just 4-3 in the UFC over the past 10 years, and two of those wins came against fighters now retired. It's surprising that he's earned a shot against Holloway, one of the best featherweights of all time. Holloway, a former division champ, has been just a few close rounds away from defeating Volkanovski.
But ignoring the career trajectories of these two, just consider their performance tendencies. Jung has a solid ground game, but his limited wrestling combined with Holloway's excellent takedown defense means this fight will likely remain standing. And on the feet, Holloway will have statistical advantages in nearly every striking metric. Jung has marginally more knockdown power, but that's not something that has threatened Holloway. Holloway has never been a walk-off knockout striker, but rather a high-volume technician who accumulates damage.
This portends another Holloway striking clinic. Expect Jung to absorb more than his share of damage, as his nickname suggests, but Holloway becomes a parlay anchor whether it's by decision or late stoppage.
Best bets on the rest of the card
Men's featherweight: Giga Chikadze vs. Alex Caceres
Kuhn: Chikadze to win (-230). Statistically, Caceres shows up well with his technical striking, boasting high accuracy with his hands. But Chikadze is a much bigger threat with power, as he also mixes in more diverse kicking attacks.
Chikadze will be another parlay leg thanks to his greater finishing potential and ability to take more damage than Caceres. While Chikadze's long layoff might be a minor red flag, Caceres returning to the cage after just 84 days since a full three-round fight is an even greater risk.
Men's bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura vs. Fernie Garcia
Parker: Nakamura to win by KO/TKO (-165). We just may have a star in the making in Nakamura. He is undefeated, with six of his seven wins coming via finish. Nakamura is an aggressive striker with plenty of power and a pace that is hard to deal with. Garcia is coming off back-to-back losses and landed himself a terrible matchup here. Expect dominance from start to finish from Nakamura.
Heavyweight: Junior Tafa vs. Parker Porter
Parker: Tafa to win (-150). Tafa suffered his first loss in his UFC debut to Mohammed Usman. Tafa had his moments and displayed the power he carries in his strikes. However, if taken down and held there, Tafa offers no threat off of his back and even has trouble standing up. Fortunately, Porter tends to not use his ground game and prefers to stand and strike. Tafa should be able to defend the takedowns of Porter and land a nasty knockout to get back into the win column.
Middleweight: Chidi Njokuani vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Kuhn: Oleksiejczuk to win (-105). Notably, Oleksiejczuk has a proven history of knockdown power, plus a sizable youth advantage on his side. Njokuani is making an admirable run this late in his career, yet with no ground game to speak of he'll be at risk trading leather from bell to bell.
It's unlikely this matchup is determined on the scorecards, but there's slightly more to like from Oleksiejczuk, assuming he can close distance on the reach differential. At practically pick 'em prices, that's where the value is.
Women's flyweight: Liang Na vs. JJ Aldrich
Parker: Under 2.5 rounds. Liang is a 5-to-1 underdog against Aldrich, so I am expecting an aggressive and fast start for Liang. Unlike Liang, who has had each of her past 12 fights (win or lose) end inside the distance, only two of Aldrich's wins have come by finish. However, half of her losses have occurred inside the distance. Liang is a live underdog here due to her aggressive nature, but if she loses, we may be looking at Aldrich's first win inside the distance in the Octagon.