Joshua Culibao will return to the UFC after a year as he prepares to take on Choi Seung-Woo. The featherweight fight between Culibao and Seung-Woo will take place on the preliminary card of UFC 275 this weekend. While Joshua has had 3 fights in the company, Choi has fought 6 times in the UFC.
Nicknamed Kuya, Joshua Culibao made his pro-MMA debut in 2016. He knocked out Paul Traish on his debut in the first round. Following that, Joshua went on an unbeaten run of 8 fights. He eventually came to the UFC 2020 to take on Jailin Turner.
Choi Seung-Woo also had a very impressive record of 7-1 before coming into the UFC. He is a two-time featherweight champion in the Top Fighting Championship.
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The South Korean fighter first won the belt in September of 2016. But subsequently lost to Jae Woong Kim in 2017. Later that year, he defeated Kim to regain the belt before moving to UFC in 2019.
UFC 275 Prelims, Choi Seung-Woo vs Joshua Culibao: Stats
| Stats | Choi Seung-Woo | Joshua Culibao |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 10 | 9 |
| Losses | 4 | 1 |
| Height | 1.83 m | 1.78 m |
| Division | Featherweight | Featherweight |
| Reach | 189.2 cm | 185.4 cm |
| Age | 29 | 28 |
How does Choi Seung-Woo vs Joshua Culibao play out?
Both Choi Seung-Woo and Joshua Culibao have very similar skillsets on paper. While Choi has 6 knockout wins, Joshua has 5. Both of them have 4 wins via judges’ decisions and neither has registered a win via submission till this point in their respective careers.
Seung-Woo has managed to secure 3 knockdowns in his UFC career so far. The 29-year-old has a decent striker per minute average of 3.38. He has a strike accuracy of 40%.
However, Choi has the tendency to get hit almost as much. The Korean fighter absorbs 2.91 strikes per minute with a defence rate of 43%. Although he does not opt to grapple in fights, Choi has a takedown defence rate of 66%.
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Joshua Culibao’s stats so far in the UFC are not really flattering. In fairness to him, the Aussie fighter has only had 3 fights in the UFC. Hence, his figures will undoubtedly improve as his career progresses in the promotion.
But so far, Culibao has landed 2.92 strikes per minute in his UFC fights. However, his strike absorption rate is a concern. Joshua eats 3.05 strikes per round. He gets hit 0.13 more times than he lands on his opponent.
The 28-year-old has not taken any of his 3 opponents down in the UFC so far. Hence, the fight this Saturday will mostly be a strike fest. Going purely by the stats, Choi should get the win over a period of 15 minutes.
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But Choi is coming off a loss against Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night which was headlined by Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori last year. On the other hand, Joshua Culibao won his last fight against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Fight Night: Rob Font vs Cody Garbandt. Hence the momentum is on Culibao’s side.
