Despite being an over 5-to-1 underdog, via BestFightOdds, in his UFC 163 featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo, Chan-Sung Jung believes he has what it takes to pull off the massive upset.
In a pre-fight interview with UFC.com, “The Korean Zombie” explains that he will exploit the advantage he has on the ground to wear the champion out.
“I think he has a weakness on the ground,” Jung said in Korean. “I will be pushing for it. I’m sure I will defeat Jose Aldo. It’s been my goal from the beginning of my MMA career. I never give up before reaching a goal. But, it won’t be easy.”
The fan favorite, well-liked for his penchant for finishing fights, fills in for former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, who withdrew from his title showdown with Aldo about a month ago following a knee injury.
Jung, currently sitting at No. 5 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings, enters his bout with Aldo on the strength of a three-fight win streak.
As a matter of fact, Jung earned four fight bonuses during that 14-month span, two “Submission of the Night” honors, one “Knockout of the Night” award and finally a “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Many also considered his twister submission over Leonard Garcia in March 2011 the “Submission of the Year,” while his battle with Dustin Poirier last May was widely regarded as the 2012 “Fight of the Year.”
While the upcoming title challenger has an impressive recent resume, his claim that he has an advantage on the ground will certainly lead to some debate among fans.
Aldo, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, has defeated some elite grapplers on the mats, most notably winning two decisions over multiple-time BJJ world champion Reubens “Cobrina” Charles when they were still brown belts.
Of course, “Scareface’s” ground game is rarely on display inside the cage due to his brutal Muay Thai striking game.
Never say never though, as eight of Jung’s 13 professional wins have come by way of submission, despite being only ranked a blue belt in BJJ.
Does Jung have what it takes to shock the world, or will August 3 be a quick, easy night for Aldo?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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