UFC News: Frankie Edgar's reaction on taking up fight against Korean Zombie

MMA veteran Frankie Edgar has released a statement after it was announced that he will step in for the injured Brian Ortega to fight 'Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung on 21st December at UFC Fight Night 165. (h/t BJ Penn)

Ortega was initially supposed to face Jung in the latter's hometown in Busan, South Korea but he had to pull out after suffering a torn ACL in his knee while training.

Ortega recently opened up on the severity of his injury with a post on Instagram.

“I tore my ACL in training and I won’t be fighting in Korea. Thankfully it was only a partial tear so I’m already rehabbing it and the plan is to be back to 100% in 2-3 months. I didn’t want to let down the fans, the Zombie and the UFC so I strongly considered pushing through it and fighting anyways, but according to the doctors, the risk of a full rupture in the fight was high and that would put me out for up to a year."

As the UFC desperately searched for a potential replacement for Ortega, Frankie Edgar stepped up to take the challenge. Although he was preparing for a bantamweight clash against Cory Sandhagen, he seemed interested in fighting on the last event in this decade, and the promotion cashed in.

In a recently released statement, the UFC officials announced that Edgar will replace Ortega in the headliner at Fight Night Busan.

“Edgar is currently preparing for his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh on January, but wanted the opportunity to face Jung first. Now, the former UFC champion will postpone his weight cut to fight The Korean Zombie in a featherweight bout."

Edgar took to Instagram to send out a message after the fight was scheduled.

“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal!"