In a fight that will be remembered as one of the wildest of 2010, Leonard Garcia won a hard-fought split decision victory over Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48.
Garcia and Jung wildly flailed at each other in the opening of the first round, throwing punches and kicks that missed more than they connected but nonetheless got the fans cheering. After a brief respite it was back to fast-paced action with Jung knocking Garcia down with a punch and teeing off on the ground, only to have Garcia come close to submitting him from his back, first with an arm bar and then with an omoplata. Both guys ended the round on their feet gasping for air after an exhausting five minutes.
In the second round it was Garcia who got things going by leveling Jung with a punch, and then the two returned to their first-round practice of teeing off on each other. Midway through the round Jung did a great job of taking Garcia down with a forward roll and getting his back, but Garcia showed that he was the stronger fighter and managed to break free and get the fight back to the feet. The second round was a close one that could have gone either way and once again left the fans cheering wildly.
By the third round it was amazing that both Garcia and Jung were still standing, let alone still fighting. The pace of the bout slowed down a little bit, but not much: Both guys were continuing to swing fists at each other until the final horn sounded and 15 minutes of fighting would be determined by the judges.
Those judges scored it 29-28 Garcia, 29-28 Jung and 29-28 Garcia. Garcia's record improved to 14-5-1, while Jung falls to 10-2.
"My job is to go out here and give you guys the best show," Garcia said. "That's what I do. ... I broke my hand in the very first round. ... I do this for you guys because you enjoy fights like this."
Anyone who likes fighting enjoys fights like that. It was a great one.
Garcia and Jung wildly flailed at each other in the opening of the first round, throwing punches and kicks that missed more than they connected but nonetheless got the fans cheering. After a brief respite it was back to fast-paced action with Jung knocking Garcia down with a punch and teeing off on the ground, only to have Garcia come close to submitting him from his back, first with an arm bar and then with an omoplata. Both guys ended the round on their feet gasping for air after an exhausting five minutes.
In the second round it was Garcia who got things going by leveling Jung with a punch, and then the two returned to their first-round practice of teeing off on each other. Midway through the round Jung did a great job of taking Garcia down with a forward roll and getting his back, but Garcia showed that he was the stronger fighter and managed to break free and get the fight back to the feet. The second round was a close one that could have gone either way and once again left the fans cheering wildly.
By the third round it was amazing that both Garcia and Jung were still standing, let alone still fighting. The pace of the bout slowed down a little bit, but not much: Both guys were continuing to swing fists at each other until the final horn sounded and 15 minutes of fighting would be determined by the judges.
Those judges scored it 29-28 Garcia, 29-28 Jung and 29-28 Garcia. Garcia's record improved to 14-5-1, while Jung falls to 10-2.
"My job is to go out here and give you guys the best show," Garcia said. "That's what I do. ... I broke my hand in the very first round. ... I do this for you guys because you enjoy fights like this."
Anyone who likes fighting enjoys fights like that. It was a great one.