Chan Sung Jung (14-5), även känd som ’Korean Zombie’, har länge varit en publikfavorit tack vare sin underhållande stil. Sist vi såg honom i buren så förlorade han bokstavligen talat i sista sekunden av ett 25 minuter långt krig mot Yair Rodríguez (11-2) när han blev knockad av en oväntad armbåge.
Generande förlust
Den armbåge som Rodríguez lyckades avsluta ’Korean Zombie’ med hamnade genast på diverse ”highlight reels” världen över vilket fick ’Korean Zombie’ att skämmas, enligt egen utsago via sin Facebook-sida.
I en intervju med MMA Junkie, inför helgens match, så berättar ’Zombie’ att han har lagt det hela bakom sig.
“Post-fight, it was devastating for me, but I came to accept it because everything went according to my plan,” Jung told MMA Junkie on Wednesday ahead of UFC on ESPN+ 12. “I did gut it out at the end. I pushed it until the end. For athletes, it’s either you win or you lose. It’s the outcome that really matters. The post-fight was a loss for me. Back then I did feel embarrassed, but after a while, it’s more like an accomplishment, I feel. I don’t feel embarrassed anymore.”
Analyserat
’Korean Zombie’, som vill ta lärdom av sina motgångar, har analyserat orsakerna kring varför han förlorade senast och han ringar in framför allt två orsaker till det hela. Den första är det sena bytet av motståndare.
“When my opponent changed from Frankie (Edgar) to Yair, I had to really think it out. For a couple of months, I had been preparing for an opponent who was quite shorter in height, who was a wrestler, who was orthodox. But then it all changed completely to a taller height and southpaw and a striker.”
Den andra orsaken, menar han, är att han sökte ett avslut för nitiskt.
“I was just going to go for (the finish) because it’s my own calling to overcome each and every opponent, so everything else during the fight went according to my plan. However, except for the last second or so.”
Redo att avsluta sin motståndare
’Zombie’ uppskattar att UFC låter honom möta den motståndare som han önskar, trots att han förlorade sin senaste match. Han respekterar sin motståndare, Renato Moicano (13-2-1), men säger att han kommer att avsluta honom.
“Despite the fact that I lost my previous fight against Yair, my initial reaction to that was appreciation towards Sean and Dana. Because my opponent changed from Frankie to Yair, Sean and Dana both promised to match me with whichever opponent I wanted. Renato Moicano was one of the people in rankings I wanted to face. I have nothing but appreciation towards them for keeping the promise.”
“For all of my fights, I predict that I’ll go the distance, but all of my fights have ended before completing the last round. I think the fans can expect the fight to finish before the final bell rings. I’ve prepared a lot for everything in Moicano’s style if he runs for it or charges forward. It all depends on how Moicano plays it out.”
’Korean Zombie’ vs Moicano är main-event på helgens UFC Fight Night 154.
