Everything you need to know about UFC Fight Night: Jung Ige

ACC UFC resident expert Felix Heath-Collins with everything you need to know ahead of UFC Fight Night: Jung Ige.

The MMA action continues this weekend with UFC Fight Night: Jung vs. Ige. As with most fight nights this card suffers from a lack of highly ranked fighters and it will therefore have to rely on the very intriguing stylistic match-ups it does have to offer.

Headlining the event is a fight fan's delight between featherweight contenders "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung (16-6) (Wins-Losses) and Dan "50K" Ige (15-3). Chan Sung Jung's moniker "The Korean Zombie" was earned through his incredible chin and ability to walk through obscene amounts of damage like a zombie, while Dan Ige's "50K" nickname is a reference to the $50,000 performance bonuses paid by the UFC for particularly show-stealing fights, knockouts and submissions.

Chan Sung Jung's nickname "The Korean Zombie" is pretty damn accurate. He embraces both the fact that he can deal a shit-load of damage to his opponents and also the fact that he can take a shit-load of damage from his opponents. He even requests to be called "The Korean Zombie" by the UFC's commentators and on their graphics. That is some dedication to a nickname. The zombie has previously admitted that his nickname influences his style to a fault, which isn't surprising. And alongside his immediately impressive striking style, Chan Sung Jung also has a crazy grappling game. For the longest time, Jung had the only UFC submission win via twister (a complicated body crank submission that lives up to its amazing name).

Dan "50K" Ige also has an amazing nickname that arguably influences his fighting style. It's simple: Dan Ige loves bonuses. So much so that he named himself after them. Whether striking or grappling Dan "50K" Ige is always looking for a finish. He punches, kicks, grapples, and submits his opponents. And when he doesn't manage to get the finish, he usually manages to earn a performance bonus anyway for the fight of the night. Ige's ground game is also formidable, but he doesn't have a pro-MMA win via twister, that's for sure. To my mind, Ige should look to keep the fight standing and only use his grappling for potential defence against Jung. If Dan Ige recklessly shoots for takedowns he might wind up on the wrong end of a submission.

Will the starved zombie and the bounty hunter survive to a judge's decision? It doesn't seem very likely to me. They both have intense desires to perform well and to perform in a fan-friendly way. Chan Sung Jung should be looking to leverage his experience and skill advantages, while Dan Ige should be looking to leverage his youth and speed advantages. I tend to favour the proven abilities of Chan Sung Jung, but that could just be my bias as a fan of the zombie. It's just as likely that Dan Ige's reactions and modern game prove too much for the weakened chin of his veteran opponent. Not to mention the fact that Dan Ige's first child (a son named Bam Alexander Ige) was born only two days before he signed the contract to fight Chan Sung Jung on April 4th 2021. Maybe that will be enough to tip the balance in the favour of the new father and his desire to provide for his family? I'm not a betting man but as a fan, I'm expecting a violent finish before this fight is over.

Further down the main card, we have the return of Marlon "Chito" Vera (18-7) who faces off against "Dangerous" Davey Grant (11-4) in a litmus test of a rematch. The Ecuadorian "Chito" Vera and the British "Dangerous" Davey Grant fought back in 2016. In their first fight, Grant earned a unanimous decision victory over the three rounds scheduled. Back then "Chito" Vera only had a professional MMA record of 9-2, while "Dangerous" Davey only had a record of 7-2.

Marlon "Chito" Vera is the UFC's only current Ecuadorian fighter, and he does his country proud. On August 15th 2020, in the co-main event of the "UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3" PPV Marlon "Chito" Vera was booked to fight brash bantamweight prospect "Suga" Sean O'Malley. In the lead-up to the fight, O'Malley tried to get under Vera's skin by clouring his dreadlocked hair in the colours of the Ecuadorian flag of his opponent. Hilariously, Vera snapped O'Malley's 12-0 unbeaten record when he grounded O'Malley with a leg kick, and then he managed to knock "Suga" Sean unconscious with a brutal elbow strike from there. And with that "Chito" Vera commandeered the "Suga" Sean 'hype train', and rerouted its course to his home of Ecuador.

On the other hand, "Dangerous" Davey Grant is a restaurateur. He owns an Italian steakhouse called "Cavello's Restaurant" in Spennymore, a small town of 20,000 people in County Durham, England. He fights because he loves to. Especially since the way the UFC pays its athletes, he sure as shit isn't earning much through fighting. When Davey Grant does manage to fight though, he proves his "Dangerous" moniker correct. July last year Grant earned a left hook KO, which he followed up in March of this year with an overhand left KO finish. Dangerous, indeed.

The biggest difference between these two veterans since they first fought is the experience difference. "Chito" Vera has clocked in thirteen fights since then, while "Dangerous" Davey has only had 5 fights since then. So even though the first fight was a blowout 30-26 to Davey on all three of the judges' scorecards the first time, "Chito" Vera has shown great improvements since then in his technical ability. I favour "Chito" Vera to win dominantly, but "Dangerous" Davey will likely have other plans. Whoever wins will have a chance to demonstrate the improvements in their already formidable games.

In stark contrast to last weekend's PPV (Pay-Per-View), this fight night may seem lacking. But that's only because UFC 263 was so crazy. Last week we had a crazy Nate Diaz war followed by two great title fights - one of which crowned a new flyweight champion (who is the first-ever UFC champion from Mexico). But don't despair. This weekend's event is filled with fascinating fights and it's also included with a fight pass subscription. Hopefully, it is something special.

You can watch the main card this Sunday at 11:00 AM for us here in New Zealand. The six-fight preliminary card starts a few hours earlier at 8:00 AM, but it's admittedly more quantity than quality. Also at six fights that main card has plenty to enjoy.