Featherweight contender Chan-Sung Jung is likely on the verge of a title shot, with only fellow 145-pounder Ricardo Lamas standing in his way at UFC 162 next month.
In an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com, “The Korean Zombie” spoke about the headlining featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis at the same event.
Needless to say, the well-rounded fan favorite was less than thrilled that “Showtime” is making his 145-pound debut with an immediate title shot.
First off, I feel kind of like Pettis ‘cut in line’ … I disagree with the choice. It’s not as though I feel like I should be the one fighting Aldo, either. It’s just that Pettis hasn’t really earned a place in the division yet. I think that Lamas, myself or even some other guys should’ve gotten the title shot before Pettis.
After having his UFC debut spoiled by Clay Guida in June 2011, Pettis rattled off three straight wins, including back-to-back knockouts over perennial contenders Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone.
The last WEC lightweight titleholder then decided he didn’t want to wait for a rematch with the UFC’s 155-pound champ Benson Henderson and instead opted to cut the extra 10 pounds to fight Aldo, via MMA Junkie.
As it turns out, Aldo vs. Pettis takes place at UFC 163 on August 3, while Henderson vs. TJ Grant is being pegged for the main event of UFC on FOX Sports 1-1, which—also via MMA Junkie—takes place just two weeks later on August 17.
Also worth noting is that Jung was not opposed to seeing lightweight-turned-featherweight Frankie Edgar fight Aldo at UFC 156 in February, since Eric Koch suffered a late injury and few other viable replacements were available, via MMA Junkie.
Additionally, Jung makes note that he would prefer to face Aldo over Pettis and would like to headline a UFC pay-per-view in his homeland of Korea sometime in the near future.
The 26-year-old is 3-0 under the UFC banner and has scored four fight bonuses during that span: two “Submission of the Night” awards, one “Knockout of the Night” and one “Fight of the Night” honor.
His May 2012 bout with Dustin Poirier was also widely regarded as “The Fight of the Year” due to the high-paced, action-packed nature of the bout that Jung finished with a D’Arce choke in the fourth round.
Did the UFC make the right decision in booking Aldo vs. Pettis as the next featherweight title bout in August?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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