UFC St. Louis preview: Choi meets Stephens in a race against time
(Warning: Story contains coarse language)
Father Time comes for us all, but in the case of Doo Ho Choi, Uncle Sam's Korean equivalent might beat him to it.
Like his countryman Chan Sung Jung in late 2014, the 26-year-old will have to temporarily hang up his gloves as he enters his athletic prime in order to serve a mandatory two-year military stint in his native South Korea. That involuntary hiatus won't start for about a year, and Choi didn't appear to be fretting over the obligation when speaking to MMAjunkie recently.
However, the KO artist does intend to get one over on the hourglass and enter the barracks as a UFC featherweight champion. The path there goes through St. Louis, where the heavy-handed Jeremy Stephens awaits Sunday in UFC Fight Night 124's headliner. Choi last took the cage 13 months ago for an instant classic with Cub Swanson at UFC 206. While he got the short end of a unanimous verdict, he parlayed the slobberknocker's buzz into his first top billing in just his fifth walk to the Octagon.
The fireworks often synonymous with Stephens' name haven't translated to consistency over a 10-year, 26-fight stint in the UFC. But his methodical, knockdown-riddled performance against former world champ Gilbert Melendez at UFC 215 not only righted the ship, it provided a glimpse of the threat he poses in a talent-rich division when he can stifle the urge to headhunt. Now 31 and flirting with relegation to gatekeeper, the longtime Alliance MMA man vies for his first win streak in four years against a dance partner guaranteed to oblige his preference for a striking duel.
In the co-main event, Paige VanZant makes her promotional flyweight debut opposite Jessica-Rose Clark, who edged Bec Rawlings in her late-notice maiden voyage to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 121 this past November. Middleweights Vitor Belfort and Uriah Hall were initially set to square off in the bill's penultimate bout, but Belfort's last hurrah will have to go down another day after a last-minute health scare kept Hall from weighing in on Saturday - thereby scrapping the tilt.
Usman, Meek and the fight that nearly never was
To hear Kamaru Usman tell it, opponents have been hard enough to come by. Emil Meek didn't make it any easier.
Had Meek's visa materialized sooner, he and Usman would have already done the damn thing two weeks ago at UFC 219. The holdup prompted Usman and his team to seek out another dance partner, however briefly, and though next week's UFC 220 was posited as the tilt's new date, he and the Norwegian ultimately landed in the Lou.
With six wins in as many walks to the Octagon, Usman - who's been touted as a future champion - didn't raise many eyebrows when he made it known he'd prefer a new foe over the comparatively unheralded Meek. The clash might be seen as a lateral move for the 29-year-old Usman, but the Norwegian aims to prove he's no stepping stone. Meek punched his ticket to the UFC with a 45-second drubbing of former promotional fixture Rousimar Palhares in May 2016, then took a unanimous decision over Jordan Mein in his maiden voyage to the Octagon at UFC 206. He meets Usman with eight stoppages in nine pro victories.
Johnson seeks new life at featherweight
On Saturday, Michael Johnson tipped the scales at 145 pounds for the first time since he was 13.
After dropping two straight and four of five at 155 pounds, the St. Louis native meets Darren Elkins in his featherweight debut to open Sunday's main card. Johnson was last seen dropping one of 2017's top scraps to Justin Gaethje by second-round TKO at "The Ultimate Fighter 25" finale in July. While he and the WSOF import left it all in the cage, the Combat Club member ultimately had to eat the pointed words he'd directed at Gaethje prior to the bout.
He'll now look to walk the walk in his divisional debut against a gritty, durable winner of five straight in Elkins - who most recently edged Dennis Bermudez by split decision at UFC on FOX 25.
Related - UFC St. Louis predictions: Can Stephens silence The Korean Superboy?
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)