Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 139 blew the roof off The Pepsi Center this past Saturday night (Nov. 10, 2018) in Denver, Colorado.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Mike Perry, who literally had his arm broken by Donald Cerrone after “Cowboy” latched on a fight-ending armbar in the closing seconds of the opening round (see it). And Raquel Pennington, who suffered her second straight defeat, losing to Germaine de Randamie in main card action.
But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Chan Sung Jung.
Scheduled to face Frankie Edgar, “Korean Zombie” had to change his mindset and his strategy after Yair Rodriguez was pegged as Edgar’s replacement after “The Answer” came down with an injury. It’s a tough task to ask of anyone, especially someone coming off a 1.5 years-long layoff.
But, “Korean Zombie” is as game as they come, adjusting and proceeding to put on a “Fight of the Night” performance against “Pantera,” who did his part, too, giving fans one of the best fights of the year. Indeed, both men put it all on the line, keeping the fight standing all while delivering and absorbing their fair share of blows. Still, it was Jung who was getting the best of the exchanges, winning the fight on the scorecards heading into the fifth and final round.
Heading into the final minute of the fight, all Jung had to do was coast to collect his win. Once the clock hit 10 seconds, the victory seemed all but-secured. But, sitting back simply isn’t his style, as he proceeded to give Rodriguez one more chance for a final exchange, pushing forward as usual. This time, however, it backfired on him, as Rodriguez unleashed an upward elbow out of nowhere that caught an over-aggressive “Zombie” right on the chin, knocking him out at the buzzer.
See it again here.
It was one of the wildest endings ever in mixed martial arts (MMA) — just ask company president Dana White. And it will be a while before Jung gets over the “embarrassing” moment.
“I have no excuse. To everyone who has helped me, I’m truly sorry … thank you … to everyone who hates me, congratulations. I am not in a good enough condition to get on a plane so I will spend a few days in the hospital before going back to Korea,” he said after the loss. “I am embarrassed, but I will see you when I get home.”
As for what’s next for “Korean Zombie,” perhaps a showdown against Ricardo Lamas is in order. The two men were set to run it at UFC 162 way back in 2013, but the fight was scratched after Jung was pulled from the fight to face Jose Aldo for the Featherweight strap. Fast forward four years later, and the promotion booked the two men to fight at UFC 214, but those plans went up in smoke after Jung suffered an injury.
Now that both men are coming off losses, the promotion should book the fight for a third time. Stylistically, it would make for another epic showdown. Lamas, though, has to first take care of business against Darren Elkins this weekend at UFC Fight Night 140 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For complete UFC Fight Night 139 results and coverage click here.