Ji Yeon Kim

Welcome to “Judges Gonna Judge,” where our MMA Junkie staff panel revisits the most controversial decision that occurred over the weekend. This week, we take a closer look at Ji Yeon Kim vs. Priscila Cachoeira, a main card bout at UFC Fight Night 202 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Defense took the night off as Priscila Cachoeira won a slugfest with Ji Yeon Kim in an electrifying flyweight battle at UFC Vegas 49. Cachoeira was able to get the job done thanks to her blistering power that had Kim backing up several times during the fight and then closing out the fight with a series of nasty elbows that opened several cuts on the South Korean’s face. While it was a close battle throughout, Cachoeira did enough to get the win with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in her favor.

The three judges scoring Priscila Cachoeira vs. Ji Yeon Kim at UFC Vegas 49 didn’t earn rave reviews, but promotion brass saw the bloody slugfest fit for a pair of bonuses. The women’s flyweight bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors despite a controversial set of scorecards that disagreed with all but one media outlet (according to MMADecisions.com). The women will each receive $50,000 for their gutsy performances, which undoubtedly will help sooth the sting for Kim after her unanimous decision loss.

The Octagon remained in Nevada for today’s UFC Vegas 49 event, an eleven-bout fight card headlined by Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green. The highly anticipated 160lbs catchweight contest proved to be the one-sided affair that many fans and pundits were expecting. Islam Makhachev was able to get the fight to the floor early in the opening frame and quickly proceeded to move to mount. From there, the Russian unloaded a plethora of ground and pound which forced the referee to step in and call off the contest.

Korea’s own Ji Yeon Kim will return to the octagon after half a year away following her September loss to Molly McCann. Although currently on the first two-fight losing skids of her UFC career, Kim showed immense promise in her UFC victories, now chasing the consistency to prove that she can come in always prepared and at her best. In the way of this is Priscila Cachoeira, a Brazilian fighter who has made a name for herself with her aggressive and power-based style in the flyweight division.

Priscila Cachoeira will get another shot inside the UFC’s octagon. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Cachoeira will step in as a replacement for Poliana Botelho to face Ji Yeon Kim at the UFC’s event on Feb. 26. Journalist John Hyon Ko was first to report the matchup.

The UFC card on Saturday has been unofficially deemed a British Invasion. Originally scheduled for England, the card was pushed back and eventually moved to the Apex in Las Vegas, however, the British talent originally scheduled will still be put up to their tests this weekend. The sole women’s fight booked will see Liverpool’s own Molly McCann take on Korea’s Ji Yeon Kim in a bout in the women’s flyweight division.

Aleksei Oleinik taught Ji Yeon Kim a new weapon that might have future opponents thinking twice about putting her on her back. The flyweight contender had the opportunity to pick Oleinik’s brain this week ahead of the Russian submission master’s fight against Serghei Spivac at UFC Vegas 29 this Saturday, and unsurprisingly she wanted him to demonstrate his legendary Ezekiel choke. Of Oleinik’s 46 career submission wins, 14 have come by way of Ezekiel choke, including finishes of Junior Albini and Viktor Pesta in the UFC.

Flyweights Poliana Botelho and Ji Yeon Kim will collide inside the octagon in the first day of May, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting. Combate first reported the matchup. Botelho and Kim are looking to get back on track in the UFC following recent defeats in...