UFC returns to Las Vegas as the UFC APEX facility will host a slate of fights on Saturday night. The headliner pits Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie,” against Dan Ige. Jung is a former UFC Featherweight Championship challenger. The co-main event is a heavyweight tilt between Sergey Spivak and Aleksei Oleinik. You can catch the main card on ESPN2 or ESPN+.
We have the full fight card for you, as well as our online UFC betting picks for the two main events.
UFC on ESPN 25: Jung vs Ige Preview
Main Card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Chan Sung Jung vs Dan Ige (Featherweight)
Aleksei Oleinik vs Sergey Spivak (Heavyweight)
Marlon Vera vs Davey Grant (Bantamweight)
Julian Erosa vs Seung Woo Choi (Featherweight)
Wellington Turman vs Bruno Silva (Middleweight)
Matt Brown vs Dhiego Lima (Welterweight)
Preliminary Card
Aleksa CAmur vs Nicolae Negumereanu (Light Heavyweight)
Kanako Murata vs Virna Jandiroba (Women’s Strawweight)
Khaos Williams vs Matthew Semeslberger (Welterweight)
Josh Parisian vs Roque Martinez (Heavyweight)
Joaquim Silva vs Rick Glenn (Lightweight)
Casey O’Neill vs Lara Procopio (Women’s Flyweight)
Chan Sung Jung (16-6, 6-3 UFC, -110) vs Dan Ige (15-3, 7-2 UFC, -110) could be the latest war in Jung’s career. When he first debuted in the United States as part of World Extreme Cagefighting, he took on Leonard Garcia in 2010 in what remains a classic in the sport because of the sheer violence and mayhem. Jung’s first swim through UFC ended with a thud, as a title shot against Jose Aldo in 2013 ended up with Jung getting dismantled — and ending up with a dislocated shoulder. He had to leave for mandatory military service, but when he returned in 2017, he beat Dennis Bermudez showing a new level of patience, as he was willing to wait for openings and deliver counters. Jung’s last fight was an ugly loss to Brian Ortega, as Ortega unleashed a new level of skill in the boxing game, winning handily on the cards.
Ige started his UFC career with a loss to Julio Arce, but after that he won six in a row, including a series of wins against Kevin Aguilar, Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza to leave him on the edge of contender status by the middle of 2020. In his first headliner in July, against Calvin Kattar, he had some positives but had a hard time dealing with Kattar’s length and striking power. In March 2021, though, he got back to his winning ways, taking down Gavin Tucker with a bomb of a counter only 22 seconds into the contest. He requested a shot at The Korean Zombie after that, and now he has it. Both of these fighters like to rely on the counter, so this could start out slowly, but Ige’s willingness to bring the lumber quickly against Tucker could portend a more aggressive opening here as well. Jung hits harder, but Ige has more durability in terms of eating bombs. Tucker does have some issues with cardio endurance, though, and that should give Jung the opening he needs.
Final Prediction:
Jung wins via knockout
Sergey Spivak (12-2, 3-2 UFC, -225) vs Aleksei Oleinik (59-15-1, 8-6 UFC, +185) could be Oleinik’s last stand in UFC, as the promotion has been weeding out a lot of the old guard recently. Oleinik’s game is all about swinging bombs and going for low-percentage choke finishes, so win or lose, e is definitely interesting to watch. In 2020, Oleinik tapped out Maurice Greene and shocked observers with a win on the cards over Fabricio Werdum. However, Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus knocked him out in his last two fights.
Spivak opened in UFC with a loss to Walt Harris that only lasted 50 seconds. However, he bounced back to beat Tai Tuivasa. He likes to put his grappling game to work for him, while his striking is a work in process. When a fighter has zero defense, as Carlos Felipe does, then Spivak can take advantage. Given that Oleinik’s cardio tank is quite small. Spivak should be able to get through Oleinik’s initial clinch game and then draw things out, either stacking up the points or delivering a knockout.
Final Prediction:
Spivak wins via decision
UFC Betting Odds
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