"McGregor's takedown defense was just really, really sloppy" - 'The Korean Zombie' was surprised by Conor McGregor's gameplan in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier
Chan Sung Jung, aka 'The Korean Zombie,' has shared his thoughts on MMA megastar Conor McGregor’s performance in his UFC 264 trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier.
‘The Diamond’ maintained top control for a considerable amount of time, and 'The Notorious' couldn’t get back on his feet until late in round one.
The fight ended in a first-round TKO win for Poirier after McGregor suffered a lower-leg injury.
In a video posted on the Korean Zombie YouTube channel, Chan Sung Jung highlighted Conor McGregor’s lack of takedown defense in the fight. He also spoke about how difficult it is to predict fights correctly.
The 34-year-old recalled the McGregor-Poirier trilogy fight and asserted that the Irishman’s game plan was rather surprising. He stated:
“How were we supposed to know that McGregor was going to use a kick? No one knew that he was going to use leg kicks. McGregor’s takedown defense was just really, really, sloppy. Did we expect McGregor to attempt a guillotine choke? McGregor could have done a lot better. It’s not like we haven’t seen McGregor’s takedown defense. He’s used it with Khabib (Nurmagomedov). However, we’ve never seen McGregor attempt a guillotine choke. All these new techniques and changes make it difficult for us to predict correctly.” (*Video courtesy: Korean Zombie YouTube channel; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
While Dustin Poirier maintained top control for the better part of the first round, it was Conor McGregor who initiated the grappling exchange.
McGregor got to the clinch, attempted a guillotine choke, and took the fight to the mat. Poirier escaped the choke and outworked his opponent with ground strikes.
McGregor later injured his leg during a striking exchange.
The Korean Zombie secured an impressive win; Conor McGregor continues recovery
In his most recent fight, The Korean Zombie scored a dominant unanimous decision win against Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige in June 2021.
Zombie currently holds the No. 4 spot in the UFC featherweight rankings. He is likely to compete in another high-profile featherweight matchup next.
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor, who suffered a horrific lower leg injury at UFC 264, is expected to return in 2022. He is currently well on the road to recovery.
The 33-year-old has vowed to come back stronger than ever, beat Poirier in their fourth fight and reclaim the UFC lightweight title.