UFC: ‘Korean Zombie’ Hopes Trash Talking With Brian Ortega Will End

Brian Ortega was escorted out of the arena during UFC 248, after getting involved in a skirmish Octagon side with Chan Sung Jung’s close friend, Jay Park. The incident occurred while the ‘The Korean Zombie’ was using the restroom.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, ‘Korean Zombie’ said he regrets engaging in trash-talking leading up to the incident, and stated that he only did so because he felt his fans would enjoy it.

“I am not a person who enjoys trash talking, but I tried some of them recently because I thought my fans would like them,” Jung said. “But the result was not good and my friend was affected, so I won’t be doing trash talking anymore. I apologize for all the trash talking I did to Ortega and the champion, so I hope Ortega won’t continue trash talking to me anymore.”

The two were originally scheduled to fight in December at UFC Busan. Ortega was forced to pull out due to a knee injury, however, and was replaced by former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who was finished by ‘The Korean Zombie’ in the first round.

Ortega last fought at UFC 231, when he dropped a featherweight title fight to then-champion, Max Holloway. Their rescheduled bout will now headline UFC Fight Island 6 on October 17th.

‘The Korean Zombie’ Reacts To Brian Ortega’s Apology

Soon after the incident at UFC 248, Ortega publicly apologised to ‘The Korean Zombie’, although the 29 year old American has thrown some shade Jung’s way since then.

“Everyone makes mistakes, and I accepted his apology because he sounded sincere when he apologised,” Jung continued. “But a recent interview he had with ESPN made me confused if he was sincere for his apology. To be honest, I feel sympathy for him because it seems he still lives in the past as he mentioned ‘the rule’ where he was from.

“I don’t think it is good for Ortega to keep trash talking this way,” Jung said. “I believe he does not want me to go back to the issue deeper. The fact is that he hit a singer, not a fighter. The martial arts he trains in has fame in preventing school violence and bullying. I believe he does not want me to go into more detail about it, so I won’t.”

Pressure

‘The Korean Zombie’ said he initially felt more pressure ahead of the Ortega fight, until his wife reminded him that he finds every fight stressful.

“When I told my wife that I felt more pressure with this fight, she said, ‘You always said that with all the fights you had before,’” Jung continued. “Recalling the fights I had before, I would agree with her. All fights were special to me, but also stressful. I had an immense amount of pressure with fighting after 40 months of absence in the cage because of my military service.

“The fight on UFC’s 25th anniversary was special to me, even though I lost. My first fight in Korea last year was absolutely special to me, but I was also under a lot of pressure for a victory. Recalling the feeling I had with all other fights, this fight is also special to me, but not much different from the previous ones.”

Title Shot Next?

‘Korean Zombie’ also addressed if he should be in line for a title shot with a win over Ortega. He is currently number four in the UFC featherweight rankings.

“Definitely!” Jung said. “When I win over Ortega, I should be next in line for Volkanovski, [but] at this time, I am focusing on fighting Ortega and not for the title shot, yet.”

Who do you think will win between ‘The Korean Zombie’ and Brian Ortega in the UFC Fight Island 6 main event?

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