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When Max Holloway joined the UFC, he fought several fighters who are considered ‘OGs’ of the sport. Leonard Garcia, Cole Miller and Cub Swanson were among his first opponents, but there was one original gangster he never came across throughout his tenure: Chan Sung Jung, a.k.a ‘The Korean Zombie’.
In his first three UFC fights, Jung impressed. The ‘Korean Zombie’ rattled off three straight finishes, including the now-iconic second-round twister of Garcia, which led to his first UFC championship opportunity against José Aldo. He lost, and spent three years away recovering from a number of injuries while also fulfilling his mandatory military service in his native South Korea. When Jung returned, Holloway was the interim UFC featherweight champion—and one fight away from unifying against Aldo.
Fast forward a few years, and the pair have yet to fight—despite coming up around the same time and facing a number of the same oppoennts. For Holloway, that makes now the perfect time for an ‘OG vs. OG’ clash with Jung.
Max Holloway aiming for The Korean Zombie
Following his win against Arnold Allen this past Saturday, Holloway expressed interest in Jung.
“‘Korean Zombie’ [Chan Sung Jung], that is the only guy in my time with the older guys that I didn’t get to fight,” said Holloway. “I would love that fight. There’s a fight in my agent’s freaking country, Australia. Australia is supposed to be happening sometime. We don’t know when. And if ‘Korean Zombie’ wants it, he can get it. I would love to fight him. That’s one of the guys I’ve been growing up and watching.
“I’m kind of tripping out, how didn’t we fight yet? How did we not fight?,” continued Holloway. “If that’s one of the guys, then that’s one of the guys. I’d love to fight and share the Octagon with him. He’s one of the OGs that I didn’t get to fight yet. We came up in the same era and we didn’t fight each other, so if that’s it, that’s it.”
The Korean Zombie responds to Holloway
In a video message posted to his Instagram page, Jung responded to Holloway, and the UFC fan favorite is ready to go.
“[Max] Holloway, if you want to fight me, anytime, anywhere!,” said Jung. “Let’s go, brother!
“Been a long time, Thanks for setting my ‘OG’ mind on fire.”
The Fight Ready representative has not fought since suffering a fourth-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276 this past July. In his post-fight interview, the 36-year-old hinted at retirement.
However, shortly afterward, it seems that Jung decided against hanging up his gloves and was rumored to return for one final fight in Seoul, South Korea. The UFC was expected to host an event there that was built around The Korean Zombie, but it was canceled after he suffered a shoulder injury.
“I dislocated my shoulder collarbone and am unable to fight in February,” wrote Jung. “As someone who has always said that managing to avoid injuries is a skill, I feel that I am still lacking a lot.
“This Seoul match was very important to me and I wanted to improve the quality of the Seoul card,” continued Jung. “For the first time while in UFC, I rejected my opponent. And on December 2nd, I gave the names of two lightweights and one featherweight contender who was ranked higher than the fighters they had offered. In the end, I requested players who could be more popular in Korea. It was a name that everyone would rave about. I could see how much the UFC wanted to hold the Seoul fight.”
Whether the UFC is interested in Holloway vs. ‘The Korean Zombie’ remains to be seen.
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