Korean Zombie vs. Dan Ige: A betting pick’em

LAS VEGAS — Dan Ige is the UFC’s eighth-ranked featherweight, and he’s won seven of his last eight fights heading into Saturday’s main event at Apex against Chan Sung Jung, aka the Korean Zombie.

Jung is 3-3 in his last six and was finished by Brian Ortega in his last outing, on Oct. 20.

At BetMGM, it’s essentially a pick-em fight, with Jung a -115 favorite and Ige at -105.

If there is a difference between the two, though, it’s finishing ability. Ige knocked out Gavin Tucker just 22 seconds into his last fight, on March 13 at Apex, ending a streak of four consecutive decision fights. In his last 10 fights, six of them have gone to decision.

That’s in stark contrast to Jung, who lost by decision to Ortega, one of only two fights of his to go to decision in the last 11 years. For Jung, it’s almost as if his creed is finish or be finished.

Ige is 15-3 and has never been finished, his losses coming by decision to Calvin Kattar, Julio Arce and Taichi Nakajima. He’s faced some notable finishers in that time, most significantly Edson Barboza.

But unlike Barboza, whose threat comes mainly via his brutally vicious kicks, Jung is an equal opportunity finisher. He has a wide arsenal of submissions in his repertoire and he’s a powerful striker.

That’s what leads me to pick him to defeat Ige. He has more weapons than Ige, a collegiate wrestler who developed into a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt as well as a strong striker.

But he’s never faced anyone with the skillset of Jung. And given that Jung goes for it so often, there is no safe place for Ige. Ige could use his wrestling to get the fight to the ground and negate Jung’s striking power, but then he will have to defend Jung’s submission attempts.

Jung’s not a fighter to ride it out and look to coast to the end.

BetMGM doesn’t have its prop bets up yet, but I would bet this one to end inside the distance. It’s hard to survive 25 minutes in the cage with Jung.

I will lay the -115 on Jung to win, and I’ll also bet the fight does not go the distance.

Other plays for UFC Vegas 29

• Davey Grant +165 to win over Chito Vera.

• Sergey Spivak -230 to defeat Alexei Oleinik.

• Virna Jandiroba -145 to defeat Kanako Murata.

• Joaquim Silva-Rick Glenn fight to end inside the distance.

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