The UFC is heading to China, so the promotion went out and signed South Korean light heavyweight prospect Da Un Jung to take on Saparbek Safarov.
The UFC is coming to Shenzhen, China, inside the Universade Sports Centre on August 31. The card is headlined by UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade defending her title against rising star Weili Zhang. The event is now starting to get a few fight bookings and I expect a few new signings. One of those already confirmed being light-heavyweight Da Un Jung who will debut against Saparbeg Safarov (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).
6’4″
Light Heavyweight
25-years-old
Daegu, South Korea
Korean Top Team
11-2
9 KO/TKO
1 Submission (Arm-Triangle)
How Will Da Un Jung Fare in the UFC:
Jung has some good qualities a lot of the heavier guys don’t have. That being good cardio, technical striking, a solid jab, and athleticism. Left jab-right cross is what he is always dishing out. He really is a fighter that fights behind his jab, doubling and even tripling up on it. The problem is that that is usually his only weapon and will hardly ever throw with much output. Jung will at times let his hands go but tends to just jab and come over the top. He doesn’t have the big light heavyweight knockout power but is accurate picking his shots. In his last fight, his cardio looked really bad but in his previous fights, he’s gone three rounds easily so I wouldn’t take much from that. What will hurt him though is his lack of power and explosiveness. Jung also isn’t the fastest guy either so he will likely struggle against a power striker. His takedown defense has held up but against poor competition, so it’s hard to say how good it is. The competition he’s beat has a combined record of 41-35 which is not good. South Korea lacks talent in the bigger weight-classes so Jung is easily one that stands out but I’m not sure if his style will propel him to the top 15.
How Da Un Jung Matches Up with Saparbek Safarov:
Safarov isn’t a very good fighter. He’s too wild on the feet with looping punches, not being technical in the slightest. Safarov is a decent wrestler and very aggressive which could give the untested Jung problems. If you watch these two fight side by side, Jung looks like the much better fighter. It’s hard to say, just because Jung hasn’t been tested against a good fighter. The pick is Jung and if he’s an even decent prospect he should beat Safarov because Safarov’s not near UFC level.
