UFC: South Korea’s ‘Sting’ Choi Seung-woo gets first-round TKO and US$50,000 bonus
- Featherweight makes it three wins in a row with big knockout of American veteran Julian Erosa
- Choi hopes for one more outing in 2021 as turnaround continues following losses in first two UFC appearances
South Korean featherweight “Sting” Choi Seung-woo continued his remarkable turnaround with a US$50,000 performance bonus after a first-round knockout of Julian Erosa at UFC Vegas 29 on Saturday night.
The victory at the promotion’s Apex facility extended Choi’s (10-3) winning streak to three, after the 28-year-old fighter lost his first two outings in the Octagon.
Choi was throwing his left hook with intensity from the first bell, and caught American veteran Erosa (25-10) several times before dropping him. He charged in and followed up with ground and pound, but “Juicy J” already looked out, and the referee stepped in at 1:37 of the first round.
Erosa tried to get to his feet as he protested the stoppage but the 31-year-old had to be held up by the referee as officials brought a stool to the centre of the cage.
“I’m so happy to win three consecutive games in the UFC. It’s my first finish in the UFC although I have other finishes, and I’m really excited and happy with my performance,” Choi said at a backstage media scrum.
“It’s exactly what we game-planned for the last few months, especially what me and my corners worked on while we were warming up. We had no surprises so we were able to get the finish.”