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Less than 24 hours after Brian Ortega was forced out of his Featherweight scrap against Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night 165 on Dec. 21, 2019 in Busan, South Korea, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has found a worthy replacement.
According to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Frankie Edgar will step in to face “The Korean Zombie” on just three weeks notice.
Early rumors had “The Answer” pegged as the favorite to replace “T-City,” and now that it’s official, Edgar’s Bantamweight debut will be delayed, yet again. Indeed, Frankie was set to face Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC Raleigh on January 25, 2020. And while the original plan was to still face Cory if he scored the Jung fight, it will now all depend on what goes down in Busan in a couple of weeks.
That said, cutting down to 135 pounds four weeks after fighting a tough Featherweight doesn’t seem like the easiest of tasks.
Sandhagen — who wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of losing the Edgar fight — will now have to wait and see if UFC matchmakers can find him a suitable replacement next month should “The Answer” not be able to make a quick turnaround.
Edgar and Jung were originally set to face off in the main event of of UFC Fight Night 139 last November before Frankie was forced out of the matchup with an injury. Yair Rodriguez then stepped in to face “The Korean Zombie,” knocking him out with one second remaining in the five-round bout (highlights).
To see who else is fighting at UFC Busan click here.