“Korean Zombie” may miss title shot against Alex Volkanovski due to shoulder tear injury
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The Korean Zombie vs Alexander Volkanovski
UFC 272 remains to be without the main event as Max Holloway backed out from the featherweight title bout against Alexander Volkanovski due to an injury and therefore the UFC is searching for someone to replace ‘Blessed’ for the fight on March 5th.
According to multiple sources, Chan Sung Jung more famously known as the ‘Korean Zombie’ looks to be the frontrunner to take on the Australian as his manager has confirmed that Volkanovski accepted the offer to fight the Korean Zombie.
“KZ is more than willing to step in and fight for the title at UFC 272. Looking at the rankings, he is the next highest-ranked fighter coming off a win and this is a fight many have talked about for quite a while now,” said his coach, Jason House.
However, the ‘Korean Zombie’ may just have to sit out from title contention against Alexander Volkanovski as in November of the last year he uploaded a video on his YouTube channel speaking about the reason why he isn’t provoking or calling out any fighter.
“What upsets me most are the comments, ‘Chan Sung’s stubborn and waiting to fight someone ranked higher than him.’ That isn’t true at all. I’m not fighting because I’m in pain. If I wasn’t hurting so much, I’d fight the first chance I got. I seriously injured my shoulders during my fight with Dan Ige a couple of months ago. I was diagnosed with a SLAP tear, and anyone who has had a SLAP tear before knows how painful it is.”
‘Surgery or rehabilitation’ – Korean Zombie yet to decide on the better treatment for his shoulder tear injury
Chan Sung Jung, the current No. 1 ranked featherweight fighter more famously known as the ‘Korean Zombie’, is at a crossroads.
Nearly six months after his fight with Dan Ige, Jung is still suffering from the pain the injury causes though he says it isn’t as bad.
“Thankfully it doesn’t hurt all the time. It’s painful for me to perform ground techniques and throw hooks. My surgeons recommend that I surgically correct my SLAP tear, while my physical therapists on the other hand recommend rehabilitation. I don’t know who’s right, but I do know that I have to pick one or the other soon.”
If the South Korean does decide on surgery, that would mean he is certainly out of the running for a title shot and will have to sit for more than a year in order to recover and get back into shape.
The UFC had recommended stem cell surgery which the Korean Zombie was happy to take up as the recovery period of the surgery provided him a better option than the first two.
However, he said, “To tell you the truth, my health will always come first. If it takes me a long time to recover, then so be it. As a currently active fighter, I’m trying my best to stop thinking so pessimistically. Staying away from the ring longer than I need to is something I don’t want to do.”
Hopefully, we don’t have to see the Korean Zombie out for too long as this fight would be his first title shot nearly after nine years in the waiting.
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Nimish Ganapathy
(135 Articles Published)