Chan-Sung Jung, better known to the mainstream public as the “Korean Zombie,” headlines UFC 163 this evening in a featherweight tilt against long-time champion Jose Aldo.
All indications are that Jung will have his hands full, as Aldo’s 15-fight win streak, including six title defenses, has the challenger pegged as a 6-to-1 underdog by some oddsmakers (via Best Fight Odds).
The fact that the match up is taking place in Aldo’s homeland of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil doesn’t help Jung’s chances either.
Nevertheless, if his interview with Bloody Elbow from this morning means anything, it appears that the Korean brawler/submission specialist is cool, calm and collected heading into his championship bout.
“I’m focused on winning the fight. Jose Aldo is a great fighter, so I’ll have to be at my best to beat him, but I’m feeling great physically and mentally … The fans here have been nothing but supportive! I’m sure there will be plenty of “boos” on Saturday, but I’ve always thrived in the role of underdog. I’m just excited about fighting for the title … I don’t make detailed strategies … more like general gameplans. We’ve been practicing for particular skills that Jose Aldo exhibits. I don’t plan to freak out on him though.”
To his credit, the Zombie is currently riding a three-fight win streak, all finishes, which earned him four fight bonuses.
In March 2011, he avenged a WEC loss by tapping out Leonard Garcia with a twister, earning him “Submission of the Night” honors. Jung is the only fighter in UFC history to win a bout with a twister.
At UFC 140, Jung put the UFC’s 145-pound division on notice by knocking out former title challenger Mark Hominick in just seven seconds in front of his Canadian home crowd, good enough for a “Knockout of the Night” check.
In his most recent outing, Jung submitted top contender Dustin Poirier with a d’arce choke in the fourth round of their May 2012 encounter, receiving both “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors for the back-and-forth battle.
The entertaining scrap was also named the 2012 “Fight of the Year” by respected MMA media outlets MMA Fighting and Sherdog.
Will Jung’s fearless, aggressive style be enough to put the dominant champion down or does Aldo have another highlight-reel worthy knockout to add to his resume?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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