UFC Vegas 29: 'Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung beats Dan Ige in tough fight
The Ultimate Fighting Championship resumed its run of events at UFC APEX on Saturday, June 19, with a scintillating featherweight bout between fan favorite and No. 4 ranked contender Chan Sung Jung and No. 8 Dan Ige.
In the co-main event, heavyweight grapplers clashed at the UFC Vegas 29 as No. 15 Aleksei Oleinik met Serghei Spivac. Fans are counting days as UFC 264 featuring a rematch between the UFC's biggest star, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is ready to kick off on July 10.
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The UFC has been making headlines this month. At UFC 263 inside Gila River Arena last week on June 13, Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) dominated Deiveson Figueiredo (20-2-1), submitting him via rear-naked choke at 2:26 of the third round on Saturday, June 12. A Tijuana native, Moreno became the first Mexican-born champion in UFC history.
Chang Sun Jung, also known as 'The Korean Zombie', locked horns with Dan Ige in a scintillating match on Saturday. When the two 145-pound competitors clashed inside the octagon, no one knew what to expect. Both men had dynamite fists and some smooth groundwork to fall back on. But after 25 minutes of combat, Jung was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Jung demonstrated early on that he was focused on avoiding prolonged striking exchanges with Ige, securing a takedown in the first round and quickly dominating the ground position struggle. Jung seized Ige's back multiple times during the fight, locked in a body triangle and held the position to grind out rounds. "I wanted to show all my skills and the capabilities of me being a champion, so I wanted to show everything and bring everything to this fight," Jung said after his victory.
With scorecards of all three judges clocking in at 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, Saturday's win was the first by decision for Jung since 2008. "In the fifth round, I wanted to do some sort of submission before going all the way," Jung said. "I do feel a little bit upset about that, but I wanted to bring everything and all the qualities of the champion."
Jung now has a 4-2 record since returning from a nearly four-year layoff due to required military service in his native South Korea. Following a decision loss to Brian Ortega in his previous bout, Jung made it apparent that he was focused on the impending title battle between Ortega and champion Alexander Volkanovski, saying, "I'm not No. 4 anymore, now I'm No. 3."