Chan Sung Jung gets pivotal featherweight win at UFC Vegas 29

South Korean fighter Chan Sung Jung needed a win to stay in the UFC featherweight title picture, and he got it Saturday night inside the UFC Apex, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jung defeated Dan Ige 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, on the official scorecards as the UFC Vegas 29 main event.

Chan Sung Jung gets back into the win column at UFC Vegas 29

The 34-year-old Jung, who challenged Jose Aldo for the title eight years ago and has remained in the mix another shot, ran his record to 17-6. Ige, who trains in Las Vegas, fell to 15-4.

Data from UFC Stats showed the closeness of the fight, belying the judges’ cards. Jung landed 140 strikes, only two more than Ige.

Jung, nicknamed “The Korean Zombie,” recorded a second-round knockdown, although he fell short of his goal.

“I wanted to show everything and bring everything in this fight. In the fifth round, I wanted to do some kind of submission, so I do feel a little bit upset about that,” Jung said through an interpreter to ESPN after the fight.

Ige, who clamored for the matchup and did rattle Jung with a left hand in the fifth round, said after the bout that he, “went out there and fought my best. I came in the absolute best. I have no excuses. ‘Zombie’ is an absolute legend. I’ve been watching this guy since I graduated high school. He’s still one of the best in the world. That’s all I want is to test myself against the best in the world.”

In the heavyweight co-main match, Sergey Spivak, a Moldovan-Ukrainian, ran his record to 13-2 with a decision win over Russia’s Aleksei Oleinik (59-16-1).

Bantamweight Marlon Vera (17-7-1) of Ecuador also earned a decision victory over Englishman Davey Grant (13-5-0).

Other winners, all by TKO, were featherweight Seungwoo Choi (10-3-0) of South Korea, middleweight Bruno Silva (20-6-0) of Brazil, and welterweight stalwart Matt Brown (25-18-0).

–Field Level Media

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