What’s Next For Dan Ige?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone with UFC Vegas 29 blowing the roof off UFC Apex last Saturday night (June 19, 2021) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds including Dhiego Lima, who was knocked out by one well-placed strike from Matt Brown (see it again here).

And Julian Erosa, who was also finished in the first round at the hands of Seungwhoo Choi (video highlights here). And Aleksei Oleinik, who suffered his third straight loss, this time coming up short against Serghei Spivak in a Heavyweight affair.

But which fighter is suffering from perhaps the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Dan Ige.

Coming into his headlining bout against Chan Sung Jung, Ige had the chance to climb a few spots on the official UFC rankings if he managed to collect his second straight win against one of the most entertaining fighters in the game and an all-around fan favorite.

After starting off with a strong opening round against “The Korean Zombie,” Ige soon started finding himself losing the subsequent rounds once Jung started finding his groove and range. In fact, he was dropped early in round two and was victim to several of Jung’s well-timed strikes in the following minutes.

For the remainder of the fight, Ige found himself eating several of “The Korean Zombie’s” blows and having to defend several of his submission attempts. After 25 minutes of action, Ige came up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision loss, giving him his second defeat in last three outings.

“Took a tough loss against one one of the best in the world. Korean Zombie is an absolute legend, someone I’ve watched and been a fan of for so many years before I even stepped foot into the octagon,” wrote Ige on Instagram. “He fought a very smart fight congrats to him and his team. I’ve been here before but this one definitely stung a bit more knowing I had everything to gain from this fight and truly believed 100% in my heart and that I would come out victorious.,” he added.

“I’m obviously heartbroken as I sit here in the valley of defeat but I’m already plotting a way to climb the mountain again with goals to reach the top of the throne. I love this sport and I’ve dedicated my entire life to it and I’ll find a way to be better.”

As far as what could be next for “Dynamite” Dan, a fight against Sodiq Yussuf could be on the horizon. Yussuf saw his five fight win streak go up in smoke after he stepped into the cage against a red-hot Arnold Allen, who took out “Super” earlier this year.

Prior to that, Yussuf had won five straight and was 4-0 inside the Octagon. Yussuf prefers to stand and bang and cracks hard, which is right up Ige’s alley. Handing Sodiq his second straight loss would look great on Ige’s resume and prevent him from falling out of the Top 10.