MMA Preview – Jeong Yeong Lee vs Zha Yi at UFC Vegas 68
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JEONG YEONG LEE VS ZHA YI FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 218? Sunday 5th February, 2023 - 04:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 218? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 218? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 218 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 218? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
JEONG YEONG LEE VS ZHA YI LOWDOWN
Jeong Yeong Lee (9-1) has stormed his way into the Road to UFC featherweight final with two ruthless first-round finishes. He wrapped up a slick armbar on Xie Bin in the quarters and followed that up a cool and clinical knockout over Lu Kai to make it seven finishes out of his nine wins.
He meets Zha Yi (21-3) who also kicked off his tournament with a first-round submission. He caught Keisuke Sasu in a rear-naked choke which led him into the path of Koyomi Matsushima. It was a harder semi-final for Yi going right to the wire in a split decision doing enough to convince two of the judges.
JEONG YEONG LEE VS ZHA YI PREDICTION
There were questions about Lee’s form going into the Road to UFC as he was out for more than three years. He answered those questions spectacularly by dispatching his opponents away in under a minute. However, he is missing cage time as since November 2018, he has only fought for a total of one minute and 28 seconds.
Yi will be well aware of this and look to weather the early storm and drag him into the second round. Yi is durable and will not be deterred by Lee’s explosiveness, but the minute he begins to brawl, Lee will blow him out the water.
Yi will be wise to try and control the tempo of the fight by taking Lee down however, when he shoots in, he will have to watch out for those savage Travis Browne elbows. Lee is also a lot bigger and powerful than Lee and he will back himself to shrug off the majority of the takedowns allowing him to offload bombs.
We are backing Lee to get the job done on the feet but if Yi can get Lee on his back and take him past the first round, the fight will completely change course.
Prediction: Lee via KO/TKO - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Yi via Decision
