"I was in an excited state, so I didn't realize the referee had called for a stop. I feel sorry for my opponent, Oh Jung-ryong."
Yu Min-jong was brazenly delivering mechanical comments in the interview. The Team Silence staff were calmly watching the video.
"Yu Jung-ak approached me threateningly, so I reflexively threw a punch."
Yu Min-jong's interview was shameless. And at the end of the interview, Yu Min-jong didn't forget to warn Yu Jung-ak, who had tackled him.
He said if Yu Jung-ak really wanted to taste something fierce, he should come down to featherweight, although there was no reason to fight a rookie.
Public opinion was stirred by Yu Min-jong's final words.
Although Yu Jung-ak was a novice with only two fights, his opponents were not easy. Moreover, his performance in the fights was good, so people saw him as the next contender in the Spirit Lightweight division.
Yu Min-jong was a veteran fighter who had shown good performance in featherweight and then moved to bantamweight, even winning the champion title.
Though not an undefeated fighter, he was an extremely strong athlete on a recent winning streak.
Their match - fans were already talking about wanting to see it, with comments flooding online communities. However, there was a practical impossibility.
The reason was that Yu Jung-ak and Yu Min-jong were in different weight classes.
Yu Min-jong primarily competed in bantamweight. Because weight cutting was always difficult, Yu Min-jong alternated between featherweight and bantamweight fights.
At 177cm tall with a 190cm reach - it might not seem that big, but in bantamweight, it was a cheat-level spec. The same was true in featherweight.
In featherweight, 177cm was tall, and a 190cm reach was very long.
Bantamweight has a limit of 61kg, and featherweight is 66kg. Yu Jung-ak belonged to the lightweight division, which is even higher at 70kg. For Yu Jung-ak to go down to featherweight, he would need to lose 4kg.
4kg might not seem like a big difference, but in lighter weight classes, 4kg was a huge gap. It's often said that 5kg in heavyweight is like 1kg in lightweight.
In heavyweight, a 10kg difference might not be felt much, but as you go down in weight classes, even a 1kg difference is strongly felt.
As much as the power difference is strongly felt, weight cutting is naturally difficult.
It's similar to how people with more weight tend to lose weight more easily. In lower weight classes, losing even 1kg is not easy.
But Yu Jung-ak is 187cm tall. That's actually tall for lightweight. Not only is he tall, but he also has broad shoulders and a good frame.
If he properly builds muscle, he could compete in even higher weight classes right away.
Yu Jung-ak prevents his weight from increasing through strict diet management.
Strict carbohydrate restriction.
Yu Jung-ak increases and decreases his weight like a rubber band by restricting carbohydrates. Therefore, it might seem like dropping to featherweight wouldn't be a big problem for him, but the reality is different.
Having a large frame means that one's base weight is inherently higher. In other words, there's no room to add muscle to the body.
Even when competing in lightweight, Yu Jung-ak was so lean that his ribs were visible. After weigh-ins and rehydration, he looks somewhat okay, but at weigh-ins, he's almost skeletal. Yu Jung-ak himself doesn't struggle much because he manages his diet strictly, but his body is screaming internally.
In that situation, he needs to lose 4 more kilograms.
He might experience hellish pain. His condition wouldn't be optimal, and he would have to make many sacrifices to move down a weight class.
Above all, Yu Min-jong was a champion in one weight class.
He wasn't someone who could be easily beaten just by moving down.
Nevertheless, Yu Jung-ak wanted to fight Yu Min-jong. The reason was simple. What Yu Min-jong whispered when he clung to him after the tackle:
"What if Jung-ryong becomes a blind cripple... heh."
Yu Min-jong laughed.
Yu Jung-ak heard his laughter clearly. And Oh Jung-ryong underwent surgery for an orbital fracture. It was a major injury that would prevent him from exercising for at least a few months.
As soon as the surgery was over, Oh Jung-ryong decided to retire and stay on as a trainer for Team Silence.
"Hyung."
"Why are you here?"
On the day Oh Jung-ryong was discharged, Yu Jung-ak visited the hospital with Cho Yong-il. Oh Jung-ryong's condition was surprisingly good.
The surgery went smoothly, and there wouldn't be any major aftereffects. Discharged after 10 days.
"How's your body?"
"Except for a little eye pain, I'm fine."
"You need to work."
"Kid. I need to rest. What work?"
"To fight Yu Min-jong."
"What?"
Oh Jung-ryong frowned at Yu Jung-ak's words. Then he stared at Yu Jung-ak. Beside him were Cho Yong-il and Yoon Chang-seon.
Despite the presence of the coach and representative, Oh Jung-ryong expressed his irritation.
"Are you crazy?"
"Let's do it."
"Do what? The weight classes don't even match. It's already surprising that you compete in lightweight with that build. And now you want to go down to feather? Is Yu Min-jong going to come up to lightweight? As if he would."
"Hyung!"
"What!"
"I got hit by Yu Min-jong, remember? I can't let that go. I'm too upset about getting hit. So please help me. You know Yu Min-jong best, hyung."
"Representative. Aren't you going to stop him?"
Oh Jung-ryong looked at Cho Yong-il as he spoke.
"Don't ask. Even this kid's parents couldn't change his mind once it's made up. If he says he'll do it, he will. You should just give up. It's easier that way."
"Shouldn't we at least beat some sense into him?"
"That won't work either."
"You don't know this kid's story, do you? Get in the car and listen to it, then decide."
After getting in the car with Oh Jung-ryong, Cho Yong-il told him what Yu Jung-ak had been up to. Oh Jung-ryong then repeatedly called Yu Jung-ak a "crazy bastard."
At first, he didn't want to believe it, but the story was too detailed and everything fit perfectly. After hearing the story, Oh Jung-ryong looked at Yu Jung-ak with curiosity and said he would help.
Oh Jung-ryong and Yu Jung-ak were having a meal together in the wellness center cafeteria.
"In exchange, give me 15% more of the fight money."
"Okay, deal."
"What? Why are you agreeing so quickly? Do you think 30% is a small amount?"
"I was going to offer more, so that's a bargain."
"This is after splitting with the coach, you know."
"I know."
"Damn. I should've asked for more."
"Stop being greedy. You'll have a lot to learn from me in the future. Teach me well. I heard you're also a black belt in jiu-jitsu?"
"There's nothing more ridiculous than bragging about belts in MMA. Everyone and their dog has a black belt these days."
"Anyway, please support me well."
"To be honest, I'm not sure what I can do for you. I can point out strategic aspects. The most important part of a trainer's job is helping with basic fitness and weight cutting. It's important to work on tactics and techniques. But more important than that is getting you onto the octagon. But you already do that well on your own. So honestly, I feel bad taking money."
"Hmm... then don't take it and just help me."
"Hey! Don't cut me off like that."
"Hehe, you'll take it, right?"
"I need to eat too. Would you like it if your big brother was starving?"
"Uncle said he's cleaning up your house and told you to move into the wellness center? He said he'd give you a room."
"Wow. Our representative really keeps his promises."
"What promise?"
"He probably said he'd make sure you don't have to worry about making a living as long as you're with Silence."
"But when are you going to start?"
"I've never cut down to featherweight before. So I want to try cutting once and then decide. We still have time. I'm in the process of cutting now."
Yu Jung-ak first tried cutting from 80 to 66 kg. It was definitely tough. When he got down to 66 kg, Yu Jung-ak looked almost skeletal. After cutting, rehydration was important, but problems arose during the rehydration process.
He couldn't properly digest food. Eventually, Yu Jung-ak even had to work on reducing his walking weight for the fight with Yu Min-jong.
More than a month and a half passed like that. Yu Jung-ak succeeded in reducing his walking weight to 78 kg and cutting down to featherweight.
The rehydration was perfect too.
His rehydrated weight was 77 kg.
There were no problems digesting food or with stamina. He was still energetic even after doing 5 rounds of full sparring.
His face looked a bit haggard, but that didn't matter. His physical condition didn't seem much different from when he competed in lightweight.
Yu Jung-ak looked at Oh Jung-ryong, Cho Yong-il, and Yoon Chang-seon and said:
"Please contact Spirit. Tell them I want to fight Yu Min-jong. Also, set up an interview at the same time."
"Why the interview?"
"So Yu Min-jong can't run away."
The next day, Yu Jung-ak's interview was prominently featured in the news.
"I'm responding to the provocation. I'll cut down to featherweight, so let's fight!"
And below were more specific details:
"So it's certain that you'll fight Yu Min-jong in featherweight?"
"Yes. But in my opinion, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fight Yu Min-jong."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Yu Min-jong probably blurted that out without knowing I'd come down to featherweight. But when I actually say I'm coming down, he might get scared. So I think he might schedule the fight and then back out with an injury excuse."
"Surely that wouldn't happen?"
"That's right. That shouldn't happen."
Yu Jung-ak was clever. He was blocking Yu Min-jong's escape routes in advance. Upon seeing the article, Yu Min-jong responded to the provocation, and a featherweight match was set.
Yu Min-jong VS Yu Jung-ak
Looking at their records alone, it seemed like an overwhelming victory for Yu Min-jong was expected.
"How's your condition?"
Oh Jung-ryong asked while holding pads for Yu Jung-ak. Yu Jung-ak frowned at the question.
"Ah! Stop asking that!"
"You little brat, yelling at your elder like that."
"I told you I'm fine! Why do you keep asking?"
"Because that's my job! Condition management!"
"My mental state will break before that. This is already the tenth time."
"That's how important condition management is. Don't underestimate those 4 kilos. You're different from guys like Jose Aldo."
Jose Aldo was a fighter who went from featherweight to bantamweight with a height of 186 cm. A fighter with a similar height to Yu Jung-ak. Yu Jung-ak was struggling this much to drop from lightweight to featherweight, but Aldo was competing in bantamweight, which is 61 kg.
"I know."
"You're not a lanky style like those guys. So you need to be careful about cutting weight. I'm serious."
"I've already cut and finished the rebound simulation, haven't I? Are you still worried?"
"Yes. I'm still worried."
Yu Jung-ak had a similar height to Jose Aldo, but their body types were completely different. Usually, larger fighters in the weight class were lanky like Aldo. Fighters who were tall rather than having large frames. They often had narrow shoulders and long limbs. Plus, their body thickness wasn't that substantial.
On the other hand, Yu Jung-ak wasn't a lanky style. He was tall with a good frame. His shoulders were quite broad, and his body thickness was good too.
He maintained a walking weight of 80 kg because he had very little body fat and managed himself well, but many people said he looked close to 90 kg just based on his body size.
For such a Yu Jung-ak to reduce his walking weight and drop to featherweight, it couldn't help but be a big risk.
"Hey, Yu Jung-ak! Jung-ryong is doing his job properly, so why do you keep grumbling? That's what a dedicated trainer does."
Cho Yong-il, who had been watching the situation from behind, said.
"Oh! Representative, you're here?"
Yu Jung-ak and Oh Jung-ryong greeted Cho Yong-il respectfully.
"Yes."
"You should know you're lucky. Jung-ryong's skills are too good to be wasted in Korea. If it weren't for the injury, he would have already made a name for himself in the CFC, his techniques are that good. So learn well."
"I'm already learning a lot."
"Good. Have you worked out a fight strategy?"
"I'm planning to use the weapon you equipped me with."
"What?"
"You know, the basics. The left jab. Didn't he learn that left jab properly?"
"Yu Min-jong isn't a novice. Will that be enough?"
"It will. I know that bastard very well."
"How so?"
"First of all, he's what you'd call a lanky style."
"Yu Min-jong is lanky, but his height isn't that extreme, is it?"
"Instead, his reach is ridiculous. He has long arms and long fingers."
"His reach is long."
"He uses that reach very actively."
"Eye pokes?"
"That's one of the skills he uses when the game isn't going his way."
Oh Jung-ryong was explaining surprisingly calmly.
"Well, a 190cm reach in feather or bantamweight..."
"His ground game is overshadowed by his reach, but he originally comes from a grappling background. His wrestling is good, and his ground skills are very good."
"That's right."
"So this time, I'm thinking of telling Jung-ak to use the left jab. That guy's main weapon is ground game. He'll definitely try to measure the distance and take it to the ground. But that won't work against Jung-ak."
"At least not in wrestling. But won't that cunning bastard try to keep it standing right away?"
Cho Yong-il chimed in.
"That's the blind spot. He has such a ridiculous reach that he's never faced an opponent with a longer reach than his."
"It's only a 6cm difference. Will that make a big difference?"
"Even 6cm is big. You know how reach is measured in MMA, right? It's different from boxing. In boxing, you measure with boxing gloves on and arms extended, but in MMA, you spread your fingers. Because clinching and ground game are allowed."
"And?"
"But in standing, you don't fight with your fingers spread. You make fists. Look at this guy's hands. His hands are small, and his fingers aren't that long."
"Ah!"
Cho Yong-il nodded.
"So there's a reach difference between when the hand is open and when it's a fist."
"Yes."
"It varies from person to person, but usually, the reach difference between an open hand and a fist is about 10cm. It's the finger length."
"The average male hand length is about 20cm."
"Yes."
"But if you look at Yu Min-jong's hands, his fingers are unusually long. There's a difference between when they're folded and when they're extended."
"So that's why he's particularly good at eye pokes."
"Yes. When you face him, you can feel it. You can sense whether this guy might poke your eyes with his lead hand or not. So if it seems like he might, you just avoid the eye pokes while fighting. After all, if you get hit, you're the only one who loses. But with him, there's a big difference between when his fist is open and closed. So it's not easy to gauge the distance."
"Then the reach difference when making a fist must be even bigger."
"Yes. He's not a striker style, and he doesn't use switches well. The reason Yu Min-jong has been able to hold up well in his weight class so far is because of that reach and strong ground game, but if those two are blocked, he'll probably struggle a lot. Especially, as far as I know, he's never faced an opponent with a longer reach than his."
"They probably think 190cm and 196cm are similar."
"But in an actual fight, the difference will be more noticeable."
"So he'll be thrown off by that, right?"
"Yes. I've fought him twice. He has some sharp striking, but that's just because his reach is long. In reality, it's nothing special. Just swinging hooks."
"Come to think of it, I've hardly ever seen Yu Min-jong throw a jab."
"Measuring distance and throwing the back hand. Kick checks. That's all he knows how to do in standing. Even if he tries to add other techniques, he can't improve that quickly in a short time."
"What if he decides to come in close?"
"Don't worry. Jung-ak has good footwork and good eyes. He can handle that much while backing up. It's actually better if he comes in like that. It's good for landing counters."
"Uncle, don't worry too much. I'm preparing well. Plus, I'm preparing a finishing move, so I'll definitely win. You know Jung-ryong hyung is the type to say there's no chance if there really isn't."
Yu Jung-ak, who had been watching, said. Cho Yong-il looked at Oh Jung-ryong. Oh Jung-ryong nodded silently.
There was a chance.
No, he was planning to thoroughly crush him. Oh Jung-ryong thought there wouldn't be a big problem as long as Yu Jung-ak didn't show any conditioning issues on fight day.
It was now a month and a half until the fight. It was time to start preparing for the weight cut.
A week later.
Spirit informed them of Yu Min-jong's demands. The expressions of the Team Silence staff twisted when they heard the demands.
"This bastard is really a scumbag." Yoon Chang-seon frowned.
"Why?"
Yu Jung-ak and Oh Jung-ryong rushed in.
"This bastard wants this match to be 5 rounds. Ha. He knows you'll lack stamina after cutting weight and is trying to take advantage."
A 5-round match.
There was definitely a difference between 5 minutes for 3 rounds and 5 minutes for 5 rounds. Usually, Spirit doesn't set up 5-round matchups unless it's a title fight.
Despite this, demanding 5 rounds clearly meant he wanted to dig deeper into Yu Jung-ak's weakness. Yu Jung-ak had forcibly cut down to featherweight. Naturally, stamina was the area that needed to be most guarded. But in a 5-round fight, stamina issues would become more of a problem in the later rounds.
"That's dirty. But if we refuse, won't he make excuses and run away?"
"Who knows. But he'll probably do some trash talking."
"What's there to trash talk about? What's wrong with not accepting a 5-round fight? There's only a month left until the fight, and he makes this kind of shitty demand."
Yoon Chang-seon expressed his irritation.
"Coach, let's just accept it. He wants to get beaten for 5 rounds, right?"
Yu Jung-ak was surprisingly relaxed.
"5 rounds isn't easy."
"Don't worry. My condition is at its best. I have Jung-ryong hyung, and I've really prepared properly for this fight, so trust me."
"Alright. Yoon coach, let's trust him this once. Nobody can break this guy's stubbornness anyway."
Cho Yong-il, who had been watching, chimed in.
"Jung-ryong, are you confident?" Yoon Chang-seon asked Oh Jung-ryong.
"Yes. This time, I'm going to make Yu Min-jong retire. Or create a historically humiliating gif. Of course, I'm not saying I'll use fouls. I'll properly beat him up in the octagon. Looking at it again now, this guy is like Swiss cheese full of holes. He has too many weaknesses. I can't not do this after discovering so many weaknesses."
"Then I'll trust you and accept the deal."
"Yes."
"And this match is already creating buzz. Tickets are already sold out, it's crazy."
"Well, Yu Min-jong is popular."
"He gets just as much hate. So if you win, you'll become famous overnight, Yu Jung-ak. So do well."
"I'll do my best!"
Yu Jung-ak accepted the 5-minute, 5-round deal. Time passed, and finally, the day of the weigh-in arrived.