Jeremy Stephens Crushes Dooho Choi in 2nd Round, Wants Brian Ortega Next
Jeremy Stephens is a man of his word.
Ahead of Sunday night’s main event from St. Louis, Stephens promised that he would cap off the night against “The Korean Super Boy” Dooho Choi with a highlight reel finish and that’s exactly what he delivered.
Of course, Stephens didn’t just walk through Choi as the highly touted prospect definitely held his own, specially in the first round as he landed several stinging punches and punishing kicks to the legs.
Stephens’ biggest problem early on was not being able to find his range to land punches on Choi, who was just far enough away that he avoided taking any really hard shots through the opening round.
Choi then came out firing in the second round where he landed a stiff front kick that cracked Stephens directly in the face, snapping his head back from the impact.
Almost like that shot brought him back to life, Stephens immediately went on the attack after that and he started landing his most effective shots all night. Stephens came forward with serious pressure, popping Choi with a series of stiff punches that had the 26-year old fighter trying to find an escape.
Stephens didn’t let his foot off the pedal as he kept pouring on the offense until he landed a perfectly timed left hand that clipped Choi and send him down to the canvas.
WATCH FOR THE HOOK! @lilheathenmma finishes strong with a huge win over @koreansuperboy7! @briantcity next, perhaps? #UFCSTL https://t.co/2ZYhv2DQ2c
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 15, 2018
Like a missile being fired at a grounded target, Stephens launched himself to the mat where he absolutely blasted Choi with a shot and he continued to rain down shots in succession. Finally, Stephens landed one more huge bomb that forced Choi to roll to his side where he ate a series of elbows that forced the referee to stop the fight.
Stephens leapt over the cage to celebrate with his family as he earns his second straight win while getting his first finish since knocking out Dennis Bermudez back in 2015. Following the win, Stephens turned his attention to top five ranked featherweight Brian Ortega, who happened to be sitting cage side for the fights in St. Louis.
“Brian Ortega, I know he’s here. Where’s he at? I know he’s coming off a good win,” Stephens said following his win. “I want to fight everybody in front of me.”
Whether or not he’ll get Ortega is unknown but Stephens should definitely get a higher ranked opponent following such a dominant performance over a prospect like Choi on Sunday night.
