A week after the action-packed UFC 263 comes another fantastic set of fights this coming weekend in Las Vegas, with UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige. The main event will feature a featherweight showdown between Chan Sung Jung and Dan Ige, a fight that could have a significant impact on the flow of things in the division. Check out our preview for this fight below.
It’s been a while since Jung, more known by his nickname “The Korean Zombie,” has fought inside the Octagon. In his last fight, he suffered a loss via unanimous decision at the hands of Brian Ortega way back in October 2020. He won’t be lacking any motivation to win this coming weekend, as the result of his fight against Ige could very well determine whether he gets another fight in the UFC or not. Jung is 2-2 in his past four fights, with the two wins coming in back-to-back fashion. Jung beat Renato Moicano in June 2019 and Frankie Edgar in December 2019, both via knockouts in the first round. Jung likes to push the pace, averaging 4.15 significant strikes per minute. He can also get things done on the ground, as evidenced by his 8-0 submissions record. If there’s one thing he has to improve, it has to be his striking defense, as he’s been hit quite a lot over his last few fights.
Ige had a six-fight win streak going for him that got him on the radar in the division. However, he got tripped over by a loss to Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision in July 2020. He did recover right away, though, scoring a knockout win over Davin Tucker in March of this year, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. He needed just 22 seconds to take out Tucker, so he must be very fresh when he steps inside the Octagon to face The Korean Zombie on Saturday. Ige believes a win over Jung would put him inside the top 5 of the rankings in the featherweight division. This fight against Jung will answer a lot of questions about Ige and his future. He’s still in his prime years, as he’s only 29, much younger than the 24-year-old Jung, whose body has been to a lot of wars in his MMA career. Ige will look to assert himself in this fight with his wrestling skills, especially after seeing Ortega record three takedowns against Jung. So far in his time with the UFC, Ige has an average of 1.68 takedowns per 15 minutes.
