Dan Ige hoping to land “sick fight” against Chan Sung Jung after UFC Vegas 22 win
After scoring a stunning 22-second knockout victory over Gavin Tucker at UFC Vegas 22 this past Saturday, rising featherweight contender Dan Ige is ready to take a shot at the 145-pound division’s elite.
The 22-year-old Ige has won seven of his previous eight bouts and was riding a six-fight winning streak before coming up short against Calvin Kattar last July in Abu Dhabi. Now back in the win column, the Hawaiian thinks a bout against former title challenger Chan Sung Jung makes sense for him next.
“I’ve kinda let just let the fans and the media create some buzz around it,” Ige told MMA Junkie. “I’m no matchmaker, but it definitely makes sense. ‘Zombie,’ he’s in the top-five echelon, and obviously, I’m aiming towards the title and, in order to get to the title, I gotta beat guys in that top five. But Dana said, I’ll say it, I’m a guy that’ll fight anyone. I don’t shy away from any challenge.”
The 34-year-old Jung, better known as “The Korean Zombie”, is currently ranked No. 5 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings. Most recently, he suffered a loss to Brian Ortega this past October, but before that, he had won two-straight fights by TKO over Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar.
In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel (H/T MMAFighting), Jung made it clear that he’s been disappointed with his lack of activity and that he’s looking to return to competition soon. He even said that he considered moving up to lightweight at one point because he wasn’t able to land a fight at 145 pounds.
Perhaps a fight against Dan Ige will be of interest to“The Korean Zombie”, though. Ige himself is certainly open to the idea, as he believes the pairing would make for a “sick fight”.
“I took on Gavin Tucker, who was a big risk for me, and he didn’t have a number next to his name, but I’m not moaning or groaning or complaining about it,” Ige said. “I love a challenge, so I think the Zombie fight makes a lot of sense. He’s a guy that comes in, he’s literally a zombie. If you look at my style, you can call me a zombie as well. I’ve never been finished, I can take a shot if I need to, and I always come forward, so that’s just a sick fight.”
