Choo Sung-hoon loses to Mina after a hard-fought match
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/Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Choo Sung-hoon lost a 1-2 split decision to Alberto Mina at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night Seoul, Saturday.
This was a hard-fought bout, but the decision went to Mina, who took the early lead and withstood Choo’s monstrous third-round assault.
Choo wanted to continue his winning streak after his unanimous decision over Amir Sadollah in September last year, but Mina extended his winning streak to 12.
In the first round, the fighters exchanged jabs and low-kicks, and late in the round, Mina attempted a takedown, but the round ended before he could do anything with it.
They continued to exchange low-kicks and jabs in the second round, as both judokas seemed wary of getting too close to each other. With 1 minute 20 seconds remaining in the round, Mina dribbled Choo down to the edge of the Octagon, but the round was halted as Choo was struck by a low-blow.
With 40 seconds remaining, Choo suffered his biggest crisis, losing his balance after Mina’s knee combinations did their damage. He went down and suffered a terrific pounding. The round ended before Choo could be counted out.
Entering the third round, Choo rebounded, catching Mina with a straight to the head and knocking him to the floor. Choo continued hitting Mina with shots to the head while Mina sought to keep the match on the mat.
As Mina continued his attack, the bout became emotional, Choo forgot about his guard and continued to land solid punches at Mina’s head. But this time, the buzzer saved Mina.
Both Choo and the crowd were not happy with the decision. While Mina was being interviewed after the fight, the crowds continued to chant Choo’s name.