MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 29, a five-round featherweight bout between The Korean Zombie and Dan Ige. The event takes place on Saturday, June 19 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Korean Zombie (-110)
The Korean Zombie (16-6) is the No. 4 ranked featherweight in the UFC. The 34-year-old South Korea native has been in the UFC since 2011 and has racked up a 6-3 in the Octagon over that time, with wins over Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano, Dennis Bermudez, Dustin Poirier, Mark Hominick, and Leonard Garcia, with losses to Jose Aldo, Yair Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega. The Korean Zombie has been one of the most exciting fighters in the sport dating back to his days in the WEC. We have seen him involved in some of the greatest fights of all time and be the person scoring some of the greatest highlight-reel finishes ever or being on the receiving end of them. The Korean Zombie has good striking, a slick ground game, and he’s as tough as they come, to boot.
Dan Ige (-110)
Ige (15-3) is the No. 8 ranked featherweight in the UFC. The 29-year-old American has been in the UFC since 2018 and he has racked up a 7-2 record during that time with notable wins over Gavin Tucker, Edson Barboza, Mirsad Bektic, and Kevin Aguilar. In his last outing, he needed only 22 seconds to knock Tucker out. His only two losses in the UFC came against Calvin Kattar and Julio Arce in his UFC debut. Ige is a very well-rounded fighter who is good anywhere the fight goes. If the fight stays standing he has improving kickboxing skills and has shown more power in his hands as of late. His grappling is also very strong as he has good takedown ability and submissions on the ground. He also has shown a strong chin and has proven he has the cardio to go five rounds.
Fight Breakdown: I really like this matchup between The Korean Zombie and Dan Ige, and like the Pick ’em odds suggest, the fight should be very competitive for as long as it lasts. The Korean Zombie has been one of the best featherweights for years, but he hasn’t been very active in the last few years, and the last time we saw him, he had a letdown performance against Brian Ortega. At age 34 and having been in so many wars throughout his career, it feels like The Korean Zombie may finally be hitting a decline phase in his career. Ige, on the other hand, is in the prime of his career at age 29 and coming off of the signature KO win over Tucker in his last outing. It’s a close fight because we haven’t seen Ige take that next step in his career yet, but I think this could be the fight where he has a breakthrough performance. I’m expecting a competitive fight, but with Ige showing power and The Korean Zombie’s waning a bit, I think Ige can get the win in this fight.
Prediction: Dan Ige
