‘The Korean Zombie’ looks to come good on his promise

Chan Sung Jung, known fondly as ‘The Korean Zombie’, will look to come good on his promise to knock out Brian Ortega when the pair of featherweights meet in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on Sunday 18 October 2020.

This event at ‘Fight Island’ promises to be a spicy one, with Chan (16-5-0) and Ortega (14-1-0, 1 NC) sharing a strained history. They were originally scheduled to meet in December 2019, but Ortega was forced to pull out due to a knee injury. A few months later Ortega was guilty of a massive faux pas when he allegedly slapped Jay Park at UFC 248 – Park happens to be the manager and translator for none other than ‘The Korean Zombie’.

“You are such a coward for slapping a musician not a fighter. If you f****** planned this to fight me and to use my name because people don't remember your name any more, then I congratulate you, it worked,” Chan wrote on social media after the incident.

“I will fight you and I will knock you out and your f****** face will be bloody. Now, your f****** face stays in my mind and I will f*** you up in the cage. I hope you won’t run away from me again.”

After an apology from Ortega, Chan took a more conciliatory tone, though there is no doubt some bad blood between these two fighters. And there’s even more on the line than pride, with UFC boss Dana White stating that the winner of this clash will be in line for a shot at the title.

“You know, how I just went out and said [about the] Ferguson fight against Gaethje? I said, ‘I absolutely, positively guarantee you that this fight will be great!’ That’s the same thing with Brian Ortega v The Korean Zombie. There’s no way this fight is boring. And the guy that comes out of that fight would be next in line for a title shot,” said White.

Both Chan and Ortega have fought for the featherweight championship before (losing to Jose Aldo in 2013 and Max Holloway in 2018 respectively), but either would be a worthy challenger for current belt holder Alexander Volkanovski.

The remainder of the main card features Ciryl Gane taking on Ante Delija in the heavyweight division; a women’s flyweight bout between Katlyn Chookagian and Jessica Andrade; Jimmy Crute v Modestas Bukauskas in the lightweight division; and the opening featherweight battle between Thomas Almeida and Jonathan Martinez.

UFC Fight Night: Ortega v ‘The Korean Zombie’ - Main card

- Main event: Featherweight: Brian Ortega v Chan Sung Jung

- Co-main: Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane v Ante Delija

- Women’s flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian v Jessica Andrade

- Light heavyweight: Jimmy Crute v Modestas Bukauskas

- Featherweight: Thomas Almeida v Jonathan Martinez