Chan Sung Jung used effective strikes and effective grappling to take the unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige in the main event of UFC on ESPN 25 at the Apex in Las Vegas.
While the first round was fairly even, Jung knocked Ige down in the second round with a right hand and forced Ige on the defensive for the most part all the way to the fourth round, where after some crisp strikes backed up the Zombie, a Jung takedown forced Ite to work off his back.
Ige desperately tried to unload all of his remaining artillery in the last round and some quick strikes early had Jung backing up once again, but a big knee halted Ige’s momentum. The action spilled to the ground once again where Ige fought off a rear-naked choke, but by then it was too late.
The judges scored it 48-47, 49-46, and 49-46.
The win now gives Jung (17-6-0) three wins in his past four fights, the lone loss to title contender Brian Ortega.
Ige (15-4-0) now has two losses in his last three contests.
Marlon Vera and Davey Grant earned Fight of the Night, while Matt Brown and Seug Woo Choi earned performances of the night. Each fighter earned a $50,000 USD bonus.
A bonus worthy battle from start to finish 💢
🤑 @ChitoVeraUFC & @DaveyGrantMMA earn your FOTN.
[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/x6Nr5A2qZ4— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
Secured the bag 💰@IAmTheImmortal & @Sting_Choi gave us a show! pic.twitter.com/yMtMXwBNpd
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts on the main card.
In case you missed the prelims:
CASEY O’NEILL DEF. LARA PROCOPIO VIA TECHNICAL SUBMISSION (RNC) R3 2:54
RICK GLENN DEF. JOAQUIM SILVA VIA KO (PUNCHES) R1 0:37
JOSH PARISIAN DEF. ROQUE MARTINEZ VIA SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
KHAOS WILLIAMS DEF. MATTHEW SEMELSBERGER VIA UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
VIRNA JANDIROBA DEF. KANAKO MURATA VIA TKO (ARM INJURY) R2 5:00
NICOLAE NEGUMEREANU DEF. ALEKSA CAMUR VIA SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
MAIN CARD
MATT BROWN VS. DHIEGO LIMA
👊@IamTheImmortal ties Vitor Belfort and Derrick Lewis for most knockouts in UFC history (12) 📖#UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/Eh0QZqPD3V
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2021
WINNER: MATT BROWN VIA KO (PUNCH) R2 3:02
ANDREWS PREDICTION: MATT BROWN VIA UD
Andrews: Brown still has dynamite in his hands, but still a disappointing performance for Lima.
WELLINGTON TURMAN VS. BRUNO SILVA
Heavy ground shots for the finish 😤#UFCVegas29 LIVE on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/YBVZAYVsxU
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2021
WINNER: BRUNO SILVA VIA KO (PUNCH) R1 4:45
ANDREWS PREDICTION: WELLINGTON TURMAN VIA UD
Andrews: Give Silva credit for the finish.
JULIAN EROSA VS. SEUNG WOO CHOI
STING with the KO win! 💥 #UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/0yLVt0O32v
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
WINNER: SEUNG WOO CHOI VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R1 1:37
ANDREWS PREDICTION: JULIAN EROSA VIA UD
Andrews: Technical progress displayed by Choi. Well done.
#15 MARLON VERA VS. DAVEY GRANT
Dominating performance for the UD win!! 🇲🇩#UFCVegas29 LIVE on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/m8ihFhjLcd
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
WINNER: MARLON VERA VIA UD (29-27, 29-28, 30-26)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: MARLON VERA VIA UD
Andrews: Fight of the Night. How Grant survived this one, I’ll never know.
#15 ALEKSEI OLEINIK VS. SERGEY SPIVAK
Make that 3️⃣ in a row for the Polar Bear! #UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/87aOdIZEni
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
WINNER: SERGEY SPIVAK VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: SERGEY SPIVAK VIA TKO
Andrews: Spivak needed to finish Oleinik, who needs to think about hanging them up.
MAIN EVENT
#4 CHAN SUNG JUNG VS. #8 DAN IGE
TKZ with the equalizer to start round 2️⃣!#UFCVegas29 on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/KD6sXyMeY0
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2021
WINNER: CHAN SUNG JUNG VIA UD (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: DAN IGE VIA UD
Andrews: Zombie reminded everyone he is a mixed martial artist. I thought Ige was there, but he’ll get there with his honest and respectful mindset.
