UFC 273 went down last Saturday night (April 9, 2022) which provided fight fans with a thrilling night of action. Plenty of fighters were left feeling the post-fight blues, including Gilbert Burns, who came up short against Khamzat Chimaev, despite a valiant attempt to derail the “Borz” train in a “Fight of the Year” candidate (see it here).
And Petr Yan, who failed to unify the Bantamweight titles after losing a razor-thin spit decision to Aljamain Sterling (recap). But which fighter is feeling the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Chan Sung Jung.
“Korean Zombie” didn’t hesitate to step in to face Alexander Volkanovski after he was called upon to do so following Max Holloway’s injury. After all, who wouldn’t take an unexpected title fight, even if it is against someone who has looked unstoppable for nearly a decade?
Despite giving it his best shot, Jung simply didn’t have much to offer Volkanovski, suffering a one-sided beatdown and eventual fourth round technical knockout (TKO) defeat at the hands of the dominant champion.
As usual, “Korean Zombie” showed that sometimes he is too tough for his own good, living up to his moniker by refusing to waver before eventually (and thankfully) Herb Dean put and end to the punishment. The defeat is a crushing one for the fan-favorite, who drops to 0-2 all time in UFC title fights. Afterward, Jung was overcome with emotion inside the cage, shedding tears alongside his wife.
“It’s sad or regretful, or something like that, but there’s no such thing,” Jung wrote on social media a day later. “I feel relieved, my physical condition was perfect and all the camps were perfect, but I lost so perfectly haha. I’m sorry to those who looked forward to me, thank you to those who worried about me.
“I’m okay I’m just disappointed to learn that a champion is like this.” “I hope that Korean martial arts will be helpful to the next generation,” Jung concluded. “And I want to say thank you to Alex Volkanovski for showing the dignity of a champion. Thank you Alex.”
Furthermore, according to many Korean-speaking fight fans, Jung’s translator left out vital information while translating his post-fight speech, which included the acceptance that he may never be a UFC champion…and even the possibility of retirement.
Emotional comments such as those are normal after tough defeats, but if it is the end of the road for “Korean Zombie,” his status as an all-time fan-favorite and entertaining fighter is solidified despite the fact that mandated military duty and injuries limited his presence inside the Octagon over the last 10 years.
If he does decide to return to action, a fight against Calvin Kattar sounds appealing. Kattar is coming off a huge win over Giga Chikadze and currently sits one spot behind Jung at No. 5. His preference to stand-and-bang is right up “Zombie’s” alley, but the flip side to that is it opens him up to more potential punishment.
Then again, changing up the fighting style that brought him to where he is today is probably a bit too late to change at this point in his career.
For complete UFC 273: “Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie” results and play-by-play, click HERE.