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With UFC 273 drawing near, the die-hard 'Korean Zombie' fans are making their presence known, as their fighter is one half of the pay-per-view's main event. Ever the fan-favorite, Chan Sung Jung will have a large portion of Jacksonville's Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena erupting for his signature walkout to the song "Zombie" by The Cranberries.
Chan Sung Jung is no stranger to being a part of the climax of an event, as he's headlined 8 of his 10 UFC appearances. As many fighters struggle to reach the focal point of a card or have their name be a titular one for an event, it only took 'The Korean Zombie' two fights to put himself on the billboard. The first-ever twister submission in his UFC debut followed by the 7-second knockout of Mark Hominick prompted the promotion to market Jung the way he deserves to be marketed.
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It started with Dustin Poirier and up next is Alexander Volkanovski; UFC 273 will be Jung's 9th consecutive main event spot. Now, why exactly is he always starring in these events? Because he's pure excitement. He's a non-stop attacker and has earned the nickname 'The Korean Zombie' by showcasing his ability to move forward through any amount of punishment thrown at him. Furthermore, he's very well-rounded, having dominant performances that proved his grappling to be elite also.
Here are the top 5 Korean Zombie main events.
#5. Korean Zombie vs. Dennis Bermudez
Following a loss to Jose Aldo in his first reach for UFC gold, the Korean took a hiatus from competing to perform his duties towards his mandatory military service for is homeland of South Korea. This long-awaited return to the octagon after about four years of absence saw him face Dennis Bermudez.
Prior to this meeting, 'The Menace' had only been knocked out once in a career that saw him compete against many great strikers. With that being said, it's a fair assessment to consider Bermudez a tough and formidable opponent. This was shown in the fight as well. Bermudez landed some shots that got Jung's attention. Perhaps ring rust played into it, but the Long Island MMA product wasn't going to let 'The Korean Zombie' through without a fight.
As much as Bermudez could do, it just wasn't enough. About halfway through the opening stanza of the fight, Jung slipped a shot and countered with an uppercut that floored his opponent and welcomed him back to the UFC and win the column.
#4. Korean Zombie vs. Yair Rodriguez
In a performance that was as close to victory as one would be without actually winning, Jung had an all-out war against Yair Rodriguez to headline UFC Fight Night 139. Despite the loss on the record, this was a fight that had Jung up on the scorecards, and had the fight gone on just one more second, the judges would've been the ones to determine the victor.
Regardless, this is one of 'The Korean Zombie's best performances. His striking was crisp, his defense held up for the most part, and he was seen to be more unpredictable than ever before.
This loss must've been an especially hard pill to swallow as he was just one second away from victory, and he willingly put himself in danger as opposed to playing it safe. While this isn't great on the record, it shows the grit and willingness to exchange that 'The Korean Zombie' possesses, which are huge variables that may help him win the featherweight title come April 9th.
#3. Korean Zombie vs. Renato Carneiro
Although the fighter from South Korea had a lot of success in his fight against Yair Rodriguez, the painful loss proved to be a great learning experience for him. Jung got caught with his head on the centerline, resulting in the last second knockout loss. When he returned to take on Renato Carneiro, he wanted to make a point that he was not a stationary target.
Headlining UFC Fight Night 154, the Korean Zombie stood out from the rest on a spectacular card with one of his best performances. Not even a minute went by and 'The Korean Zombie' dropped his opponent by slipping a jab whilst countering with a powerful right hand.
Subsequent ground and pound prompted the referee to intervene just 58-seconds into this main event. Jung came in as an underdog after the aforementioned loss to 'El Pantera', but he proved to anyone doubting him that he deserves his spot at the top of the division.
#2. Korean Zombie vs. Frankie Edgar
Who better to headline a UFC event taking place in South Korea? It was a no-brainer to put 'The Korean Zombie' at the top of the bill to close out the show for this event. The real question was against who?
Enter Frankie Edgar. A very game fighter, fan-favorite and former champion who was coming off of a title fight defeat to Max Holloway, 'The Answer' isn't one to decline a dangerous fight, not even in someone else's backyard. Jung wanted to use Edgar to catapult himself into title contention, and Edgar wanted to rebound and possibly right the wrong that was his previous performance.
Edgar entered this fight having only been finished once before. His durability may have held up for most of his career, but the Korean wouldn't be denied in front of his hamoetown fans. Big shots and top control dominated the first few minutes of this fight in the favor of Jung. 'The Answer' was unable to recover and after returning to his feet, he was sat back down with a series of punches. Another main event, another first-round finish for 'The Korean Zombie'.
#1. Korean Zombie vs. Dustin Poirier
When granted his first headlining position at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Chan Sung Jung was slated against fellow contender, Dustin Poirier. 'The Diamond' was 4-0 in the organization thus far, most recently dominating Max Holloway in his debut for the company.
Jung had an impressive streak of his own going into this one in the form of 2 spectacular finishes over Leonard Garcia and Mark Hominick. This main event was set up to determine who would challenge the then-champion, Jose Aldo, in hopes of becoming the UFC's second-ever featherweight champion. These heavy implications brought out the best of both fighters.
In a bout that still holds up to this day as one of the best fights in the division. Jung really put it all out there in this performance. Flying knees, great takedown defense and great success with his bodylock takedowns -- Jung was the first in the UFC to show 'The Diamond' significant threats. Exclusive to main events and title fights are the fourth and fifth rounds. Although a fourth round was necessary, it was just needed for just over a minute. Jung locked up a brado choke and put Poirier to sleep, perhaps rendering his first main event performance as his best.
