FAIRFAX, VA, May 15 – If Korea needs an MMA superstar, they have found their man.
“The Korean Zombie,” as 25-year-old Chan Sung Jung is affectionately known in the sport, choked out Dustin Poirier in the fourth round Tuesday night to cap a thrilling UFC on FUEL TV main event at the Patriot Center that was certainly Fight of The Night and which stands a strong chance of being one of the most entertaining scraps of 2012.
“I want to thank all the Korean fans and the Korean community that came here to support me today,” the exhausted featherweight said after winning his third straight. “He had me in trouble at the beginning of the third round. The thought of giving up was in my head but I just kept going …”
While Poirier began to take control in round three, repeatedly cracking a barely-able-to-stand Jung with hard left hands, it was Jung (13-3) who delivered in most other moments of the fight. He jumped on Poirier early, catching a kick for a takedown and immediately cutting Poirier’s forehead with an elbow strike. Typically relentless in his attacks, Jung suffocated Poirier (12-2) with pressure and punches and takedowns in the second, even dropping the highly-regarded Louisianan with a punch. The crowd chanted “Zombie! Zombie!” as he ravaged the “Fightville” documentary star with flying knees and threatened with deep armbars and triangle chokes.
After Poirier’s resurgence in the third round, it was proper to wonder if Jung had enough in his tank to survive and keep from squandering his lead. But he put any such thoughts to rest in round four by rocking Poirier with punches and then finishing him on the mat with a D’Arce choke, ending the bout at the 1:07 mark and leaving the wondering to center on what’s next for the charismatic Korean warrior, who fights in the mold of an in-his-prime Wanderlei Silva but also has a fearsome ground game to go with it.
Jung’s plans?
“I want Jose Aldo.”