Why did Brian Ortega slap 'The Korean Zombie's friend, rapper Jay Park at UFC 248? The beef between the two explained
Brian Ortega once slapped Korean rapper Jay Park after the UFC star was left unhappy after he translated what 'The Korean Zombie' had said.
Back in 2020, the rivalry between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung was heating up. The two were originally scheduled to fight on December 21, 2019. However, Ortega had to pull out of the fight because of an injury.
Speaking about it during an appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show, 'The Korean Zombie' alleged that Ortega had "ducked" out of their scheduled fight. Jay Park translated the same comments on the show, and it rubbed 'T-City' the wrong way.
Brian Ortega took his frustrations out on Jay Park at UFC 248, where he confronted the Korean rapper about his comments and slapped him while Chan Sung Jung was in the restroom. Interestingly, before doing so. 'T-City' had already warned Park that he shouldn't be surprised if he slapped him if and when the two met.
However, Brian Ortega apologized for his actions later on Twitter and had this to say:
"I want to officially apologize to JPark for Saturday night, when Zombie is ready we can fight."
The fight between Brian Ortega and 'The Korean Zombie' was booked for October 17, 2020. Coming off a nearly two-year hiatus following his loss to Max Holloway in 2018, Ortega put on a dominant performance and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Jay Park brought out 'The Korean Zombie' during one of his concerts recently
The friendship between Jay Park and 'The Korean Zombie' still seems intact, even though he was once slapped for merely translating his words. Park is currently on tour, and during one of his shows, he brought out the former UFC star.
Chan Sung Jung was seen in action against Max Holloway at UFC Singapore in August 2023. In what was his last fight inside the octagon, Jung lost the bout via a third-round KO. Following his loss, The 37-year-old called it quits and retired from the sport of MMA with a professional record of 17-8.