The UFC might not have any fights today, but that isn’t keeping them out of the news. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report today that the promotion has finalized a headliner between Chan Sung Jung (16-6) and Dan Ige (15-3).
The matchup of the top ten UFC featherweights will headliner a Fight Night on June 19th. The promotion also finalized the Fight Night main event for the following week featuring heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov.Â
A matchup against The Korean Zombie is exactly what Dan Ige has been asking the UFC for. Ige just knocked out Gavin Tucker in seconds a few weeks ago and immediately called for a fight with TKZ.
Dan Ige is now 7-1 in his last eight UFC appearances with the lone loss coming to Calvin Kattar. Ige has been wanting another shot at the division’s elite to show that he can compete for a title.
Well, it doesn’t get much more elite than the Zombie. This is going to be a big test for Dan Ige and if he’s able to pull it off, expect him to get a potential title eliminator at 145 in his next UFC matchup.
UFC return for TKZ
Last October, Chan Sung Jung found himself in a title eliminator against Brian Ortega. Had TKZ won that fight, he would have earned a shot against the UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovksi.
Due to Ortega’s inactivity, The Zombie was the favorite heading into the matchup. However, Brian Ortega dominated the fight and Jung suffered his first loss in the octagon since 2018.
Now, TKZ is looking to get back on track and start marching towards the featherweight title. That journey starts at the UFC Fight Night on June 19th. If Jung is able to defeat Ige, he will likely be right back in the title picture. This is a huge matchup for the featherweight division.