After stumbling in his most recent trip to the Octagon, "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung returns to action on Saturday night in Las Vegas when he faces Dan Ige in the main event of UFC Fight Night. In a featherweight division thin on clearly established title challengers, the winner of the fight between Jung and Ige could be placed into the picture as a challenger for the winner of the September clash between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.
Jung is one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history. In his nine trips to the Octagon, Jung has won eight post-fight bonuses. After mandatory military service sidelined his career from August 2013 to February 2017, Jung got right back into the swing of things, going on a 3-1 run heading into his most recent fight. That fight would go the wrong way for Jung, as Ortega used slick boxing to dominate the fight.
Ige has quietly carved out a place for himself as a fringe contender, going on a 7-1 run after a loss to Julio Arce in his Octagon debut. He is coming off the most impressive win of his career, scoring a 22-second knockout of Gavin Tucker in March. One fight prior, Ige suffered a loss to Calvin Kattar in his biggest step up in quality of opponent to date.
Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including a complete preview of what to expect at UFC Fight Night this weekend below.
Also featured on the card is Marlon "Chito" Vera in a bantamweight contest against Davey Grant. Vera is coming off an eventful 2020 to say the least. He fought fast rising prospect Dooho Choi to a decision loss that many thought he won. But then Vera stole the show when he was pitted against rising star Sean O'Malley and scored a first-round TKO. However, the glamour didn't last long as he finished the year with a loss to former featherweight champ Jose Aldo. Now, he gets a tough customer in Grant, who is coming off back-to-back knockout wins.
Plus, "The Immortal" Matt Brown is back as he looks to cap off his career with a win over Dhiego Lima. Brown, 40, has lost two straight, including a defeat at the hands of Carlos Condit in January. He's fought just about every big name in the welterweight division throughout his incredible career and now takes on the brother of former three-time Bellator MMA champion Douglas Lima.
Here's the fight card for UFC Fight Night with the latest odds from William Hill Sportsbook.
UFC Fight Night card, odds
| Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
|---|---|---|
Dan Ige -135 | Korean Zombie +115 | Featherweight |
Serghei Spivac -230 | Aleksei Oleinik +190 | Heavyweight |
Marlon Vera -200 | Davey Grant +170 | Bantamweight |
| Seung Woo Choi -140 | Julian Erosa +120 | Featherweight |
| Bruno Silva -125 | Wellington Turman +105 | Middleweight |
| Dhiego Lima -170 | Matt Brown +145 | Welterweight |
UFC Fight Night viewing information
Date: June 19 | Start time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: UFC Apex -- Las Vegas
TV Channel: ESPN2 | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Prediction
Korean Zombie vs. Dan Ige: For all the good there is to say about both men, there's some real concerns for both as elite fighters. Both have lost against their better recent opponents and Jung has expressed some frustration with fighting five rounds, recently saying he kept pushing the UFC to put him in the co-main event to only have to train for three rounds. Ige also has not consistently been able to impose his will on opponents and should have lost to Edson Barboza but was instead handed a split decision win. Ige can't allow Jung to dictate the pace or pattern of the fight because that's the situation where the Korean Zombie does his best work. Pick: Korean Zombie via UD
