The best and worst from UFC Vegas 29: The Korean Zombie vs Dan Ige
On a card that was replete with highlight-reel finishes for the most part, 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung cruised to a unanimous decision win over Dan Ige in the main event of UFC Vegas 29 at the APEX facility in Las Vegas.
Ricky Glenn picked up a massive knockout win on the preliminary card, while Casey O'Neill and 'Khaos' Williams recorded memorable victories as well. And the first three fights of the main card ended in early, brutal finishes, before the marquee clashes lived up to their promise of entertainment.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Vegas 29: The Korean Zombie vs Dan Ige.
#5 Best - Bruno Silva makes a statement in his UFC debut
Fighting for the first time since 2018 after a painfully long USADA-enforced suspension, Bruno Silva put on a clinic during his UFC debut. Taking on fellow Brazilian Wellington Turman, an opponent whom he incidentally defeated in a submission grappling match four years ago on points, 'Blindado' maximized his maiden outing in the promotion.
Silva struggled to keep up in the initial stages, surviving multiple submission attempts and barely managing to reverse positions. But late in the first round, with Turman still behind the defense of his guard, the 31-year-old landed a few clean punches in a row to knock him out cold.
It was an unusual knockout victory, one that showed just how much power Silva has in his fists. There was no exaggerated wind-up and he wasn't in an overly dominant position.
But it kept a superb start to the UFC Vegas 29 main card going. Speaking of starts...
#4 Best - 'The Immortal' adds another Lima to his resume
Opening the main card of UFC Vegas 29, Matt Brown delivered a knockout for the ages against Dhiego Lima to walk away with a Performance of the Night bonus.
As both fighters continually moved forward and chopped away at each other with consistent leg kicks, the first round ended relatively even. And late in the second, arguably staring down two lost rounds, the 40-year-old landed a vicious overhand right that caused Lima to fall flat on his face.
'The Immortal' broke a two-fight losing skid and notched up another win over a Lima, having dispatched of Dhiego's brother Douglas back in February 2007. Brown's win was his 16th in the UFC's welterweight division as he pulled level with record holder Matt Hughes.
#3 Worst - Have we seen the last of Aleksei Oleinik in the UFC?
In the co-main event, veteran Aleksei Oleinik attempted to snap a two-fight losing streak in the UFC in a desperate attempt to keep his career in the promotion alive. Unfortunately for 'The Boa Constrictor', very little went to plan against a game opponent in Sergey Spivac.
Ahead of the fight, Spivac claimed that he wasn't unwilling to engage in grappling exchanges with one of the best submission specialists in UFC history. And he lived up to his word, surviving several futile tap-out attempts and even trying to sink in a choke of his own late in the second round.
Oleinik was willing to strike for most of the first round, which didn't help his cause. The fact he was almost completely spent ahead of the last didn't either. Some brutal ground-and-pound from Spivac helped him clinch the win and possibly a ranked heavyweight next.
But for Oleinik, who is now without a win in three fights and 43 years of age, the UFC clock may just have run out.
#2 Best - Marlon Vera and Davey Grant put on a spectacular show
In a rematch of their 2016 clash, Marlon Vera and Davey Grant faced off in an entertaining bantamweight encounter. In their previous meeting, Grant had outpointed 'Chito' to a decision victory. This time, with both men having made significant strides in both departments, Vera emerged the winner thanks to a brilliant display in the third round.
Grant started the fight with a high output and clinched the first round on two of the three judges' scorecards. But Vera grew into the fight, utilizing leg kicks and brutal elbows to bloody his opponent. The Ecuadorian turned on the heat in the final round, throwing in a few knees and sharp strikes amid several submission attempts.
Vera rounds off the UFC bantamweight rankings at the moment at #15, but if this performance is anything to go by, he may become a real contender very soon. Vera vs Grant 2 was adjudged the Fight of the Night as both fighters walked away with sizeable bonuses.
#1 Best - The Korean Zombie roars back to life
Fan favorite Chan Sung Jung returned to the win column with a superb grappling display against Dan Ige, re-establishing himself as a top featherweight contender after the brutally one-sided loss he suffered against Brian Ortega last year.
'The Korean Zombie' started off slowly, willing to let Ige make the first move and sizing up his opponent. As the fight wore on, the South Korean resorted to his grappling and didn't face too many problems taking '50K' down and holding him on the mat. Jung took Ige's back several times in the fight, with the American unable to shake off his opponent's consistent body triangles.
The fourth and fifth rounds were close, but the numerous submission attempts from 'The Korean Zombie' and his higher strike output clinched a fairly comfortable win. He landed three takedowns over the course of the fight while stuffing four of Ige's attempts, outlanding '50K' 154 to 137.
Ahead of UFC Vegas 29, many doubted whether 'The Korean Zombie' would be able to recover after brutal losses to Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. And while he was cut up by a clash of heads, the 34-year-old overcame his reluctance to take part in five-round fights to clinch his first win that went past the first round since 2012.
'The Korean Zombie' could be only a win away from a shot at the UFC featherweight title held by Alexander Volkanovski.