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UFC on ESPN 25 breakdown: Can Dan Ige get back on a roll against 'The Korean Zombie'?

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC on ESPN 25.

UFC on ESPN 25 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.

Chan Sung Jung (16-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC)

Chan Sung Jung

Staple info:

  • Height: 5’7″ Age: 34 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 72″
  • Last fight: Decision loss to Brian Ortega (Oct. 17, 2020)
  • Camp: Fight Ready (Arizona)
  • Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
  • Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:
+ Kickboxing experience
^ Pro record of 15-6 with 11 KO’s
+ 6 knockouts victories
+ 8 submission wins
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Relentless pace and pressure
+ Effective combination striker
^ Often shifts stances on attack
+ Catches kicks and counters well
+ Underrated wrestling ability
^ Defensively and offensively
+ Superb transitional grappler
^ Works well from front-headlock
– Traditionally takes damage

Dan Ige (15-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC)

Dan Ige

Staple info:

  • Height: 5’7″ Age: 29 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 71″
  • Last fight: Knockout win over Gavin Tucker (March 13, 2021)
  • Camp: Xtreme Couture MMA (Las Vegas)
  • Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
  • Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ Regional MMA titles
+ Wrestling base
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ Judo brown belt
+ 4 KO victories
+ 5 submission wins
+ 6 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Solid feints and footwork
+ Improved boxing ability
^ Variates well to the body
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Scrambles and wrestles well
^ Works best from top position

Point of interest: Clean kills

Jun 22, 2019; Greenville, SC, USA; Dan Ige (red gloves) fights Kevin Aguilar (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ben Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

The main event on ESPN features a fantastic featherweight fight between two competitors who know how to translate their aggression into clean kills.

An aggressive competitor with a never-say-die attitude, Dan Ige embodies a lot of the hallmarks of a Hawaiian fighter.
Typically the shorter man, Ige does well when utilizing feints to help freeze up his opposition. In recent fights, Ige has done even better when pairing said fakes to his footwork, taking more advantageous angles to his approach to go along with some effective lateral movement and countering threats.

Demonstrating a steadily improving boxing game, Ige can enter space with either hand, often slipping off of jabs while doing so. Once working his way inside the pocket, the 29-year-old talent stays poised as he looks to either change levels to the body or comes up high with his patent heavy hooks.

Ige is also good about mixing in uppercuts into his repertoire, whether he is launching them from the clinch with a single-collar tie attached or using them in close while coming off an angle. Regardless of Ige’s approach, I suspect that feints and variety will be key against a savvy striker who can emphatically counter.

Enter Chan Sung Jung.

Earning the moniker of “The Korean Zombie” for the relentless pressure-fighting he stepped onto the WEC stage with, Jung embodies the fighting spirit of his country of South Korea.

Coming from a kickboxing and traditional martial arts base, Jung confidently presses through space, almost inviting his opposition in. And once he can corral his target between the cage and inner-black octagon lines, Jung morphs into a non-disseminating offensive marauder, going to work on any piece of flesh that becomes available.

Whether he is slipping and returning slick uppercut-hook variations or unleashing flying knees up the center, Jung offers plenty of offense inside the pocket that his opposition has to respect. That said, if Jung cannot force this fight into his preferred terms, then he may run the risk of following around a foe who is possibly more fleet-of-foot.

Point of interest: Scrambling in the fire

Jun 22, 2019; Greenville, SC, USA; Renato Moicano (red gloves) fights Chan Sung Jung (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ben Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Given the potent chaos looming on the feet, it’s hard not to imagine scenarios where Ige looks to use his wrestling abilities to help defuse the pressure and punches that are likely coming his way. But with Jung being one of the more savvier scramblers and submission threats at featherweight, takedown attempts could quickly become a flint lighter for starting fires on the floor.

Coming from a wrestling and grappling base, Ige is not shy about going for takedowns when he needs to. The former Wartburg College wrestler has a competent level-changing shot in the open that he can go to but arguably does a lot of his best work in the clinch and along the fence – which is probably the safer approach given his opponent’s submission acumen.

Although he carries no official rank in jiu-jitsu, Jung is a treacherous transitional threat who can turn the tide of a fight off of just one bad shot.
Predicating most of his offense from the front-headlock position, Jung has a plethora of front-choke threats that he can chain to back-takes, which is ultimately another position where the Korean fighter comes to life from.

Jung has also improved on his wrestling outside of his proverbial wheelhouses, as I would not be surprised to see the Korean fighter end up on top at any point of this contest. Despite Ige’s scramble-heavy style allowing him to reverse positions and/or get back in fights where he’s been previously hurt, he is not beyond being taken down into negative positions.

But if Ige is the one who ends up on top, then this could be an entirely different story.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and judo brown belt, Ige can be a nightmare from top position, utilizing everything from wrist rides to hard strikes to secure his desired spots. Possessing incredibly heavy hips and crushing chokes, Ige is an undeniable problem if he is able to establish any sort of mounted position.

Point of interest: Odds and opinions

May 16, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Dan Ige (red gloves) defeats Edson Barboza (blue gloves) during UFC on ESPN at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the oddsmakers opening this fight at dead even, public money has pushed the Hawaiian fighter into the position of the betting favorite, listing Ige -135 and Jung +115 as of this writing.

Even though I initially thought Jung’s popularity could earn him favorite odds by fight night, most MMA gamblers can’t help themselves when it comes to fading older fighters. And despite my admitted bias toward Ige’s camp and chief corner, Eric Nicksick, I can’t blame them for betting on the Xtreme Couture product here.

Not only is Ige the more youthful and active fighter, but the durable Hawaiian has yet to be stopped or submitted as a professional and always appears well-prepared both physically and tactically. Ige has shown some body vulnerabilities to some of the bigger hitters at featherweight, but I’m not sure if I can count on Jung to get away from his ingrained nature to headhunt.

That said, if Ige isn’t careful, I still suspect he could be one takedown or knockdown away from having to fight out of a big hole should he walk onto a hard hook or dip into an uppercut. Jung has long been one of the best grapplers at featherweight, putting his skills on full display when shutting down the scrambles of Frankie Edgar in South Korea.

But ultimately, it’s hard not to favor the improving feints and variety from Ige.

Although I will be curious to see what Jung’s striking coach, Eddie Cha, was able to do for him this camp, I suspect this could be a fight in which Ige has a solid opportunity to show some of the things he’s been teasing, too – like more work from a southpaw stance. We saw Brian Ortega throw Jung off with his new look in their last fight, and I trust coach Nicksick can help navigate Ige to a clean kill given the variety of options and propensity for growth he’s shown in his most recent stretch.

Again, keep in mind that my pick is laced with bias and that I’m a fan of both men, but I’ll be officially siding with Ige to win by knockout in a fight that I sadly suspect ends sooner rather than later.

Prediction: Ige inside the distance

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