Ranked featherweights Dan Ige and The Korean Zombie (also known as Jung Chan-sung) have something to prove on Saturday night. For Zombie, it’s a chance to return to his winning ways after a rough loss last year. For Ige, he has the ability to put a UFC main event win on his record – something he has yet to attain since joining the promotion in 2018.
The fight headlines a 12-bout UFC card that is set to happen at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Here’s a preview of that fight along with the entire show that will happen.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN 2 / TSN 3)
Bout 1: Lara Procopio (7-1) vs. Casey O’Neill (6-0) (Flyweight)
Both coming back after earning their first UFC win, Lara Procopio and Casey O’Neill will kick off the preliminary card on Saturday.
O’Neill continued her undefeated pro run in her UFC debut earlier this year, stopping Shana Dobson in the second round of a fight with ground and pound. The fight was her sixth win in her third year as a pro.
Procopio also scored a win earlier this year, fighting to a decision over Molly McCann. The fight put her back into the win column after losing her UFC debut to Karol Rosa in 2019.
Bout 2: Joaquim Silva (11-2) vs. Ricky Glenn (21-6-1) (Lightweight)
Two lightweights that have been absent from the cage will return on Saturday night when Joaquim Silva faces Ricky Glenn.
Glenn has competed six times in the UFC, although his most recent fight dates back to late 2018. He took a loss in the now-dated outing, not being favoured on scorecards against Kevin Aguilar.
Silva’s last fight was a little more recent, although it was still quite a while back. He was finished for the first time in his pro career in August of 2019 by Nasrat Haqparast, who caught him with a punch early in the second round.
Bout 3: Josh Parisian (13-4) vs. Roque Martinez (15-7-2) (Heavyweight)
Both looking for their first UFC win, heavyweights Josh Parisian and Roque Martinez will fight on Saturday night.
Parisian lost his UFC debut last year on scorecards against Parker Porter. He made the walk just three months after he defeated Chad Johnson on “Dana White’s Contender Series” to earn a UFC contract.
Martinez, a former RIZIN fighter and DEEP Impact Openweight Champion, has lost two bouts since joining the UFC roster in September. He fought to a scorecard loss against DonTale Mayes in his most recent outing.
Bout 4: Matthew Semelsberger (8-2) vs. Khaos Williams (11-2) (Welterweight)
Returning after an explosive win in just three months back, Matthew Semelsberger will fight Khaos Williams at welterweight.
Semelsberger scored a win in just 16 seconds earlier this year, stopping Jason Witt with punches on a “Fight Night” card. The fight was his second win since joining the UFC last year.
Williams also has a reputation for quick finishes, making the pairing on Saturday night one with a potential for explosiveness. Williams’ rookie year in the UFC saw him score two finish wins within a minute due to punches. He is fighting to come back from his first loss in the promotion, which he took in late 2020 against Michel Pereira.
Bout 5: Virna Jandiroba (16-2) vs. Kanako Murata (12-1) (Strawweight)
Strawweight prospects Virna Jandiroba and Kanako Murata will meet as part of Saturday’s undercard.
Murata is coming off a strong UFC debut which came against Randa Markos last year. The fight came a year after she defeated Emily Ducote to become the Invicta FC Strawweight Champion.
Jandiroba, who is also a former Invicta FC champ, is returning with the goal of bouncing back from a decision loss that she took against Mackenzie Dern. Prior to then, she had earned two consecutive submission wins in the promotion.
Bout 6: Nick Negumereanu (9-1) vs. Aleksa Camur (6-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Light heavyweight fighters Nick Negumereanu and Aleksa Camur will fight to come back from their first pro loss in the final bout of the preliminary card.
Negumereanu lost his UFC debut over two years ago, dropping a decision to Saparbeg Safarov in March of 2019. The fight was his first pro loss after attaining nine wins on the regional scene.
Camur also took his first pro loss in his last showing, losing to William Knight in September. He was coming back after scoring a victory in his promotional debut earlier in the year over Justin Ledet.
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN 2 / TSN 3)
Bout 7: Dhiego Lima (15-8) vs. Matt Brown (22-18) (Welterweight)
Attempting to come back from a recent loss, Dhiego Lima will face UFC veteran Matt Brown in the opening bout of the main card.
Lima had a three-fight win streak stopped earlier this year by Belal Muhammad, who kept a fast pace and scored a unanimous decision victory over him. The fight was Lima’s first appearance in over a year.
Brown is also fighting to get back into the win column. He has lost his past two fights, getting stopped by Miguel Baeza and losing on scorecards to Carlos Condit.
Bout 8: Wellington Turman (16-4) vs. Bruno Silva (19-6) (Middleweight)
Coming back from a long suspension, Bruno Silva will make his UFC debut against Wellington Turman.
Silva was originally set to make his promotional debut in 2019 against Deron Winn, although he lost that opportunity after being flagged for a drug test by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. A year after the drug test was first dished out, an independent arbitrator ruled that Silva would get a two-year suspension, including the amount of time that the arbitration process took.
After two-years on the sidelines, Silva is ready to fight. He enters the UFC after a strong four-fight win streak from 2017 to 2018.
Turman was finished in his last fight, as Andrew Sanchez caught him with strikes late in the first round of a bout in August of 2020.
Bout 9: Julian Erosa (25-8) vs. Seungwoo Choi (9-3) (Featherweight)
Two rising featherweights in Julian Erosa and Seungwoo Choi will fight during UFC’s main card on Saturday.
Erosa started his second run in the UFC last year, re-joining the promotion to take a short-notice bout against Sean Woodson. He had a strong win in that fight, stopping the previously undefeated Woodson in the third round with a darce choke. He has scored another win since then, defeating Nate Landwehr within a minute with a flying knee.
Choi is also on a two-fight win streak in the UFC. He last competed earlier this year, fighting to a unanimous decision against Youssef Zalal. The fight was his first appearance in over a year, with his previous bout dating back to late 2019.
Bout 10: Marlon Vera (18-7-1) vs. Davey Grant (11-4) (Bantamweight)
Davey Grant’s recent upswing in the bantamweight division will be tested by Marlon Vera on Saturday.
Grant had a rough start to his UFC career after losing in the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2013. Fighting infrequently through those first few years, Grant lost three of his first four bouts in the UFC. However, the past two years have seen him produce much better results.
Grant is currently on a three-fight win streak that kicked off in 2019. He stopped two opponents in the past year, catching Martin Day and Jonathan Martinez with strikes.
Vera is returning to the cage after a big 2020. The bantamweight vet pulled off somewhat of an upset in August, becoming the first fighter to defeat prospect Sean O’Malley. The win set him up for a fight against former UFC champ Jose Aldo, who defeated him via unanimous decision.
Bout 11: Aleksei Oleinik (59-15-1) vs. Serghei Spivac (12-2) (Heavyweights)
26-year-old UFC heavyweight Serghei Spivac will get one of the most experienced opponents of his career thus far when facing Aleksei Oleinik in the co-main event of Saturday night’s “Fight Night” lineup.
Spivac started his UFC career by flipping between wins and losses, although he has the chance to move to three-straight victories if he wins on Saturday. He notched his last victory in February, where he was able to finish Jared Vanderaa in the second round due to ground and pound.
If Oleinik loses on Saturday, it will be the first time in his pro career of over 75 fights that he falls to a three-fight losing streak. He has been stopped in his last two appearances, being finished recently by Chris Daukaus and in a main event against Derrick Lewis last year.
Bout 12: The Korean Zombie (16-6) vs. Dan Ige (15-3) (Featherweight)
Two high-ranked featherweights in The Korean Zombie (also known as Jung Chan-sung) and Dan Ige will square off in what could be a five-round fight in the main event of Saturday’s card.
Zombie is returning to the cage after getting his climb up the division stopped late last year. The now 34-year-old found himself in a potential title eliminator bout last year, facing Brian Ortega in a five-round bout. Ortega put on a strong showing in the fight to win via unanimous decision and solidify a shot at UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Zombie had strung together a couple of finish wins against respected featherweights before getting his fight against Ortega. Zombie needed less than a minute to stop Renato Moicano in the main event of a card in mid-2019, catching him with an overhand right before finishing him on the ground. Just six months later, Zombie closed out the year with a first-round finish victory against former champ Frankie Edgar.
Needing to pick up more momentum in the featherweight division, a win over Ige would be a big victory for Zombie.
Ige was one of the best rising featherweights in recent years stringing together six wins in the division. The streak eventually brought him to his first ever UFC main event, which he had against Calvin Kattar in July of last year. The fight didn’t go in favour of Ige, as he admittedly was controlled in striking exchanges.
Ige has since emphatically returned to his winning ways, scoring a walk-off knockout over Gavin Tucker in March. Not only would a win give Ige his first UFC main event win, but it would continue the momentum that he has built up this year.
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