The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making their return to Houston, Texas, with a Super Bowl Weekend show that has many in the MMA world celebrating the return of “The Korean Zombie”, Chan Sung Jung, who last graced the octagon in August of 2013.
In that appearance, Jung lost via TKO to then Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo Jr., in a spirited affair that unfortunately saw him dislocate his shoulder, which lead to the end of the fight. Despite recovering from the injury, he would get injured again preventing him to compete for a full year, leading him to eventually make the announcement that he was going to partake in mandatory military service for his native South Korea.
Three years later, he’s finally back and now scheduled to take on Dennis Bermudez in Saturday night’s main event.
For his part, “The Menace” has competed in seven MMA bouts since Jung fought Aldo. That should have many ‘Korean Zombie’ fans worried, and at the time of this writing, it’s showing in most of the oddsmakers lines.
Bermudez is a -200 favorite, with Jung lingering around at +170. In looking at history here, Jung has only been finished twice, once in that Aldo fight (technically due to injury) and once vs. George Roop via a head kick KO. Despite Bermudez not exactly being known for his power, this is a five round fight, so I wouldn’t sleep on the +365 T/KO for “The Menace”, as fatigue could play a factor in this bout.
If you're feeling nostalgic and yearn for Jung to pull off a magical submission, you’ll get some pretty good bang for your buck as it’s currently being offered at +450. And don’t laugh, but I’ve got my eye on the Bermudez by submission at +800.
In the co-main event, Women’s Strawweight phenom Alexa Grasso (-320) is heavily favored over opponent Felice Herrig (+260). These odds have me pondering a few things, as the money is clearly skewed for the younger fighter in Grasso, 23, who is a nine year youth advantage over Herrig, 32.
For the most part, the younger fighter also tends to have a speed advantage, something Alexa should have over Felice. With that being said, Felice has never been finished by another lady's fists, elbows or knees in MMA, so welcome to the land of confusion and indecision. Grasso via T/KO is being offered up at +280.
It looks tempting but so does the potential of an upset here, as the veteran in Felice does have a submission game that tends to surprise many, and that +785 on Herrig by submission is very tantalizing.
As for the rest of the card, here are some potential options to consider:
Abel Trujillo via T/KO over James Vick: +260
James Vick via submission over Abel Trujillo: +385
Anthony Hamilton via T/KO over Marcel Fortuna: +130
Bec Rawlings wins by decision over Tecia Torres: +450
Any fun bets you feel I should consider? Fee free to hit me up with your thoughts via social media, using @ShowdownJoe or right here, at FightfulMMA.com
