Alexander Volkanovski calls out 'The Korean Zombie' after Max Holloway withdraws from UFC 272 title fight
Alexander Volkanovski has called out Chan Sung Jung, popularly known as 'The Korean Zombie', after his scheduled opponent Max Holloway withdrew from their UFC 272 title fight.
The featherweight championship bout between titleholder Volkanovski and No.1 contender Max Holloway was supposed to main event the March pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Earlier on Friday, it was reported that 'Blessed' withdrew from the fight after aggravating his pre-existing injury. 'The Great' now feels that Jung would be the perfect next opponent for him.
"@KoreanZombieMMA [Chan Sung Jung] Let’s do this!! #UFC272," said Volkanovski.
Here is Alexander Volkanovski's tweet calling out 'The Korean Zombie' for a fight at UFC 272:
@KoreanZombieMMA Let’s do this!! #UFC272
Jung has already fought for the featherweight title once. He unsuccessfully challenged then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163 in August 2013. He then took a break from mixed martial arts to complete his mandatory South Korean military service.
The 34-year-old superstar returned to the octagon in 2017. He had a win over two-time lightweight title challenger Dustin Poirier but lost to Volkanovski's most recent challenger, Brian Ortega.
'The Korean Zombie' last fought Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 29
'The Korean Zombie' holds a 17-6 win-loss record in his professional MMA career so far and is 7-3 in the UFC. He hasn't fought either Alexander Volkanovski or Max Holloway yet.
Chan Sung Jung's last bout in the world's biggest MMA promotion came against the No.9-ranked Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 29 on June 19, 2021. He won the five-round main event via unanimous decision.
fightmag.com.au/2021/06/20/kor…The Korean Zombie secures a unanimous decision against Dan Ige in #UFCVegas29 main event
(via @UFCEspanol)
Highlights ➡️ fightmag.com.au/2021/06/20/kor…
https://t.co/BNkhhOYBtD
Jung is tied with Holloway and Cub Swanson to win the most fight bonus cheques in the UFC's featherweight division at eight each. He is also the first fighter in UFC history to finish a contest with a twister submission.
The two men immediately above him in the rankings - Yair Rodriguez and Ortega - are both coming off losses and are most likely out of contention to face Volkanovski.
Meanwhile, if Giga Chikadze beats Calvin Kattar at UFC Vegas 46 next week, he might be in position to seal the title shot considering his existing nine-bout winning streak. Former two-division champ Henry Cejudo may also be considered.
Aspiring to be the first three-division champion in the UFC, Cejudo has been campaigning for a shot at Volkanovski's featherweight title.
In fact, upon learning of Max Holloway's withdrawal from UFC 272, 'The Messenger' was quick to post the following tweet.
Hey @danawhite give me a shot at Alex. I would never cancel. I’m Mexican and we don’t believe in pulling out of anything.