Chapter 13: Condition Slump
Yu Min-jong VS Yu Jung-ak Weigh-in Day
More people than expected had gathered. There were reporters and fans who came to watch the weigh-in. While there are fans who come to watch the day's match, in reality, not many fans come to see Spirit FC's weigh-ins.
But today, many had gathered. This meant that public attention was focused on this match.
People like matches with a story. The clash between Yu Min-jong and Yu Jung-ak had the backdrop of Oh Jung-ryong, so it was bound to attract more attention.
Moreover, Yu Min-jong was unusually skilled at trash-talking for a domestic fighter. Even foreign countries were closely watching this match.
Yu Jung-ak stepped on the scale first.
Exact weight.
He looked much more haggard than in the lightweight division. There was a clear sense that his physique had shrunk. His muscle definition was deeper, but his size had definitely decreased.
In contrast, Yu Min-jong looked much more relaxed than during his match with Oh Jung-ryong. For him, whose main arena was bantamweight, featherweight was an easier weight class.
His condition also looked better than during the Oh Jung-ryong match.
On the other hand, Yu Jung-ak's face looked like he might collapse at any moment. Yu Jung-ak drank water as soon as the weigh-in was over.
Gulp, gulp, Yu Jung-ak's image of drinking an entire bottle of water was enough to focus the attention of fans.
Drinking water like that right after the weigh-in meant that the weight cut had been that difficult.
Unexpectedly, Yu Min-jong didn't provoke and stood facing Yu Jung-ak. Yu Jung-ak never provoked anyone at weigh-ins originally.
A clean exchange of glances.
They didn't make any provocations, but they didn't shake hands either. This point made the audience even more tense.
And then came the moment of the match the next day.
[Yu Jung-ak is entering first. As in the previous match, his expression is calm. He's a young fighter, but there's no sign of nervousness.]
[For a fighter who debuted this year and has only had two matches, receiving this much attention means he has that much star quality.]
[Yes. Honestly, he's handsome. Cutting down to featherweight makes his features look even sharper. He's going to stir the hearts of female fans once again.]
[He's a fighter with skills to match his looks. Didn't he show in his match with Hiroya Kizaemon that his win against Liu Jinshi wasn't a fluke?]
[But his opponent is no pushover. The Spirit FC bantamweight champion. Isn't he Yu Min-jong, Spirit FC's biggest star?]
[Yes, that's right. Yu Min-jong is also an amazing fighter. That's why this match between the two fighters is really anticipated.]
[The war of nerves was intense too. Kang Du-hwan, how do you see this match?]
[Personally, I'm a fan of both fighters. But objectively, I think Yu Min-jong has the advantage. First of all, both fighters are meeting in the featherweight division, which isn't their main weight class. However, Yu Min-jong has had matches in featherweight before, while this is Yu Jung-ak's first time. That's the first concern.]
[You're talking about the weight cut issue?]
[That's right. Dropping weight classes isn't an easy thing to do. Plus, Yu Min-jong is a veteran, isn't he? And he's the current bantamweight champion. For Yu Jung-ak, who only has two professional MMA matches, this could definitely be a tough mountain to climb.]
[But if he wins, wouldn't Yu Jung-ak rise meteorically, as if he's grown wings?]
[He's already rising meteorically as if he's grown wings. That's why I'm more curious. Can Yu Min-jong clip the wings of the rising Yu Jung-ak, or will he become a stepping stone for Yu Jung-ak's ascent? We'll have to watch the match.]
After Yu Jung-ak's entrance, Yu Min-jong made a flashy entrance with a girl group song playing. Yu Min-jong looked relaxed.
He was grinning at Yu Jung-ak.
Yu Min-jong's strategy was to pressure Yu Jung-ak while using all five rounds. Yu Min-jong was certain.
That Yu Jung-ak wouldn't have the stamina to fight for five rounds after such a drastic weight cut.
Even if he did, it was just a matter of wearing down his stamina.
There were plenty of tricks to drain the opponent's stamina during the match. Yu Min-jong was thoroughly planning to drain Yu Jung-ak's stamina.
"No groin strikes, no eye pokes, no elbows on the ground, no knee kicks from four-point position, no upkicks. Fight fair. Touch gloves."
The referee told them to touch gloves, but of course, neither did.
[Ah, they didn't touch gloves. Yu Jung-ak is known for his good manners before and after matches.]
[He has that gentle image. I've met him in person too, and he's a very nice fighter. For such a fighter to not touch gloves now. A fighter who even stopped his own ground and pound because he was worried Liu Jinshi might get seriously hurt. This means there's that much emotion in this match, doesn't it?]
[It must be the influence of his teammate Oh Jung-ryong, who's in his corner. Alright, the match has started!]
Yu Jung-ak went out first and claimed the center of the octagon. Then he loosened his guard slightly and lowered his left hand a bit more.
And he looked at Yu Min-jong. Yu Min-jong was taking light steps while looking at Yu Jung-ak.
Smack!
Yu Min-jong's sudden outside low kick. Yu Jung-ak lifted his front leg to defend while still looking at Yu Min-jong.
Simultaneously, he threw a straight left jab. Yu Min-jong's face flashed.
It was a sharp left jab.
'He's longer than I thought.'
Yu Min-jong was slightly taken aback. He threw a low kick, but the opponent's left jab reached him. That meant there was more of a reach difference than he had thought.
Of course, there was a secret to this. Oh Jung-ryong and Yu Jung-ak had practiced a lot on timing the left jab with Yu Min-jong's low kicks.
Even with the same left jab, the reach varied depending on how the upper body was used. A left jab thrown while leaning forward lost some sharpness but was perfect for hitting a distant opponent.
[Both fighters are exchanging low kicks and jabs. In this case, an outside leg kick would be better, right?]
[If it had landed properly, maybe, but Yu Jung-ak defended the low kick by lifting his leg. It didn't land properly.]
Thwack!
Yu Jung-ak's left jab connected again. Yu Min-jong threw a long right, but Yu Jung-ak easily avoided it with a backstep.
'It's like a guided missile.'
Yu Min-jong had expected Yu Jung-ak's jab to be sharp, but it was even sharper than he thought. He felt he needed to implement his strategy faster.
Whoosh
Yu Min-jong swung a big right and tried to cling to Yu Jung-ak. But Yu Jung-ak calmly stepped back and landed a left jab.
Yu Min-jong's face was pushed back slightly by the left jab, but he didn't mind and grabbed Yu Jung-ak's leg.
[It's a single leg takedown! He's got it. Can Yu Min-jong actually take him down?]
However, Yu Jung-ak's wrestling was much better than known. He gave up one leg, leaned against the octagon fence, and blocked Yu Min-jong's takedown. Then he punched Yu Min-jong's face as he clung to his leg.
It wasn't a big impact, but it was just right to be annoying.
Yu Min-jong used force to try to flip Yu Jung-ak to the side. Yu Min-jong lifted his body and applied force to shake Yu Jung-ak.
Yu Jung-ak staggered greatly. But he didn't fall. Yu Jung-ak maintained his posture on one foot and barely kept his balance.
Yu Min-jong succeeded in detaching Yu Jung-ak from the fence. Without the fence, the shaking would have been enough to succeed in a takedown.
Yu Min-jong tried to target Yu Jung-ak's standing foot by extending his leg. At that moment, Yu Jung-ak's standing foot jumped into the air.
A short flying knee kick while his leg was held.
It was a legitimate attack because Yu Min-jong's knee wasn't touching the ground. Yu Min-jong let go of his grip in surprise at the cleanly landed flying knee kick.
Yu Min-jong's lip was slightly split and swollen. Yu Min-jong's face contorted. It was because his first plan had failed.
But it was still okay. Yu Min-jong had fully expected this level of resistance in the beginning. Yu Min-jong fell back and regained his distance.
[Yu Jung-ak! He easily blocked Yu Min-jong's takedown. He also landed a knee kick and is clearly scoring points for now.]
[Yu Min-jong doesn't seem to have taken as much damage as expected. He's pressuring right away!]
Yu Min-jong threw a middle kick and immediately clinched. Yu Jung-ak didn't resist much and just took what he could get using Yu Min-jong's force.
As the exchange continued, there was about 1 minute left in the first round. Yu Jung-ak started breathing heavily. His breathing through his mouth was visible even from a distance.
His movements were gradually slowing down. However, it wasn't dangerous yet. But something was off. The first person to notice this was Yu Min-jong.
'Now it begins, you bastard.'
Yu Min-jong inwardly smiled and pressured Yu Jung-ak even more. Double hooks and a high kick. He dazed Yu Jung-ak with quick attacks.
Yu Jung-ak didn't allow any clean hits and threw a few more jabs as counters. Nevertheless, Yu Min-jong didn't mind.
It was because he could see Yu Jung-ak's stamina dropping.
As the second round started, Yu Jung-ak's movements noticeably slowed.
[Ah! Yu Jung-ak is tired now. The weight cut issue seems to be catching up to him. His movements have clearly slowed down.]
[Still, Yu Jung-ak is in an advantageous position so far. He's avoiding Yu Min-jong's offensive well. He's still landing jabs and kicks too. Yu Jung-ak's eyes are amazingly good!]
[But it's still early in the second round. I'm curious how he'll spend the remaining rounds. Ah! For the first time in the match, Yu Jung-ak initiates the clinch. He's trying to buy time.]
Yu Jung-ak dug into Yu Min-jong's armpit trying to buy time. Yu Min-jong resisted fiercely and threw punches. Yu Min-jong's pounding against the fence hit the side of Yu Jung-ak's face. Yu Min-jong was certain that Yu Jung-ak was tired.
"Is this all you've got? With stamina this premature, what good are you? At least Blue Dragon had some stamina. Oh, by the way, how's his eye? Is it okay?"
Yu Min-jong whispered quietly to the clinched Yu Jung-ak. Yu Jung-ak ignored him and slightly shook Yu Min-jong in the clinch.
Just slightly.
Yu Min-jong easily blocked it and pushed Yu Jung-ak back hard. As Yu Jung-ak was pushed back, Yu Min-jong's right high kick flew in.
Yu Jung-ak raised his guard high to block Yu Min-jong's kick. Yu Jung-ak staggered. Yu Min-jong approached fiercely, seizing the opportunity.
Yu Min-jong unleashed a flurry of punches.
Yu Jung-ak staggered but narrowly avoided Yu Min-jong's three attacks with weaving. Unlike before, he didn't counter with jabs.
And rough, heavy breathing.
Yu Min-jong smiled and threw a low kick. Yu Jung-ak slowly raised his leg. And countered with a left jab.
It landed on Yu Min-jong's face. However, it was clearly a jab that had lost its sharpness compared to before.
'You think you can hold out until now, huh? I'll show you hell from the next round.'
The second round mostly consisted of Yu Jung-ak enduring Yu Min-jong's fierce attacks. Surprisingly, even in his exhausted state, Yu Jung-ak handled Yu Min-jong's attacks well. There were almost no clean hits. Except for allowing a few body kicks and low kicks, he hardly allowed any attacks to his face.
Nevertheless, Yu Min-jong's corner was in a festive mood. Yu Min-jong was also confident of victory. In contrast, Yu Jung-ak's corner was calm.
After the second round ended, Yu Jung-ak returned to his corner and sat lightly on the chair.
"How is it?"
"Breathing roughly seems to be draining my stamina."
"But we practiced this. How's your condition?"
"Still fresh as a daisy."
"Then go put it on properly now."
"Yes."
The strategy devised by Yu Jung-ak and Oh Jung-ryong. It was a fake grogginess.
Yu Jung-ak had been acting out the condition deterioration due to a failed weight cut. In fact, Yu Jung-ak's weight cut had been perfect.
There was no need to gulp down water after the weigh-in. He did so only to deceive Yu Min-jong.
Thanks to this, Yu Min-jong had used up much more stamina than expected from the middle of the first round to the second round.
Now it was Yu Jung-ak's turn to counterattack.
Start of the third round.
Yu Jung-ak grinned at Yu Min-jong. Yu Min-jong also smiled at Yu Jung-ak.
Thwack!
A left jab flew as soon as it started!
It wasn't the jab from the second round. The sharpness from the beginning of the first round was still alive. The hand speed was also the same.
Confusion began to cloud Yu Min-jong's face.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone