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Korean Zombie (Chan Sung Jung)
The Korean Zombie (Chan Sung Jung) earned his stripes and his name for exactly what it stands for. Walking through whatever he has to in order to get to you is what he has been known for his entire career.
With a record of 16-6, he has six KOs and eight submissions under his banner. In his six losses, he has never been submitted but he has been knocked out three times. With a brown belt in BJJ and black belts in judo, hapkido and taekwondo, I think it’s safe to say that Zombie is a lifer in this game.
The orthodox fighter from South Korea has a deep understanding of range, space separation and when he needs to get into close quarters to put a halt on your offense in order to get off his own. Zombie will be patient and wait for you to make the first chess move before engaging from there. He has very clean striking and will lead with a low left hand that stays very loose in order for him to deliver some very surprising shovel punches on the way in.
Even though his style is very loose, relaxed and composed, there is a negative to every style. The negative for him is that he can be hit plenty due to his lack of head movement. He tends to rely on his durability, keeping his head on the centerline.
The issue with that is, even though he is fairly durable, if he doesn’t finish off his opposition, the points can accumulate against him if someone really starts laying a bead on his timing. In five decisions, he is 2-3, so the decisions historically are not his greatest paths. However, when he gets his offense flowing, he switches gears from counter striker to predator, and that is when he becomes very dangerous. If you watch his fight against Frankie Edgar, that was a perfect example. He sits back and lets Edgar get off on him and scores when its there. Then when he sees that he caught Frankie, he pounced
Zombie becomes very offensive at this point and quite honestly, impending doom for the opposition is more than likely at this point. The key to beating Zombie is to engage enough offense to stick him and move. You don’t want to be baited into a slug fest with him because he will not start one, but he will gladly engage in one if that’s what you desire.
Then it just comes down to which fighter is more durable. Fighters must take what Zombie is giving them and lead just enough to touch him up with points. If the finish presents itself than they clearly should go for it, but taking Zombie into a foxhole is not the greatest idea for anyone.
Dan Ige
Zombie takes on Dan Ige who has risen to the occasion in his UFC career. After losing his debut fight to Julio Arce, Ige has not looked back but once. With six straight UFC wins in a row, Ige seemed to find his footing quickly. After really catching fire, Ige dropped a tough loss to Calvin Kattar, only to bounce back and beat a very highly touted Gavin Tucker.
With 15 wins and three losses, Ige has shown tremendous durability with never being finished. The black belt in BJJ and brown belt in judo has all the tools to be a problem for anyone, but with four KOs and five submissions, he doesn’t hold the equalizing power to really have that power to finish someone like Zombie in my opinion.
He will need to do it via volume or submission, and with Zombie never being submitted, I find that a hard sell as well. So the main path for him here is volume in a five-round decision for me here. The odd stat is that both men have been into the fifth round a total of three times, and they are a combined 0-3 when doing so.
How I’m Betting
Zombie is 0-2 with one that was a little flukey in my eyes. He was beating Yair Rodriguez up for five rounds and literally got caught with a freaky elbow at the horn and was KO’d. Ige is 0-1 with a loss to Calvin Kattar. So both men have not been able to pull out the long-haul win yet in the five-round affair, but I do think that Zombie just brings a little more firepower.
There is no doubt that Ige will match him in spots on both the feet and on the ground, but the more damaging strikes will come from Zombie late. Eventually Zombie will see that Ige is only hitting him and not actually hurting him. Zombie will slowly but surely start walking him down, and that is where you will see a shift in power and presence.
The Pick: Zombie
DFS
- Zombie (Jung): $8200
- 100+ Points: 5 of 10
- Current Market Value: 6 of 10
- Hedge: 6
This is the perfect setup to hedge very close. I am leaning slightly on Zombie here. Ige is a very sharp fighter, but I am not certain he has the power to KO Zombie, and if he does win, he is going to have to do it on volume and by outworking Zombie. The more damaging power is really what lets me lean this way. In a tough fight, the power can make the difference in the eyes of the judges.
- Ige: $8000
- 100+ Points: 3 of 10
- Current Market Value: 5 of 10
- Hedge: 4
Ige is super sharp and has exceeded all of our expectations. He is very live in this spot, but will he be able to stop the walking down of Zombie for 25 minutes while firing back? If Ige wins this fight, I see him winning by decision, but at $8,000 and a win, he will certainly cover his tag.
Vegas: No Official Play | Zombie +120 can be considered
