Opinion: Frankie Edgar made a mistake fighting The Korean Zombie on replacement call
The Korean Zombie knocked out former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in the first round of their main event at UFC: Busan, before immediately calling for a title shot.
Following a fourth-round TKO defeat by Jose Aldo at UFC 200 for the interim strap, Chan Sung Jung - nicknamed The Korean Zombie - returned to action after a three-and-a-half year absence with a first-round win over Dennis Bermudez.
His next UFC bout was almost two years afterwards though, suffering a KO defeat by Yair Rodriguez in the final second of their five-round encounter. Unsurprisingly, both earned Fight of the Night honours - with the 32-year-old returning seven months later to knock out Renato Moicano in an impressive Performance of the Night outing.
However, this victory over Edgar is just as impressive and propels him into the title picture. For Frankie though, the situation is completely different. 2019 hasn't exactly been his year, having suffered a unanimous decision loss against Max Holloway for the featherweight title at UFC 240. The next month, he officially announced a move to bantamweight.
Another loss caps frustrating 2019 for Edgar - uncertain future awaits
Originally scheduled to face #4 bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen next month, he was instead surprisingly announced as a quick replacement for Brian Ortega (knee, torn ACL) on December 21. Cory is 5-0 in the UFC (12-1 overall) and his momentum has earned him potential title contention just under two years after debuting in the UFC. So with that in mind, winning a fight like this would have been hugely beneficial from Edgar's perspective.
But taking this bout on short notice had the opposite effect. He didn't look confident going into the fight and should have stuck to his decision to move to bantamweight after falling short against Max Holloway five months prior.
Beating Cory would have created opportunities aplenty for Edgar in that division. It's easier said than done, but he had been training specifically for that encounter after announcing his decision to drop down in weight. It could have opened doors for incredible matchups against Marlon Moraes, Petr Yan and possibly a quick title shot opportunity against Henry Cejudo.
Aldo made the smart decision not to take any more featherweight fights after losing to current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Cejudo challenged Aldo for a title match despite his split decision loss by Moraes, and it's clear why too. A fight against Aldo invites more attention from the MMA audience, which is something Edgar can also attract.
After this loss, Edgar has delayed his bantamweight debut and also lost an incredible opportunity to earn a quick title match in the division. His name will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time, but at 38, there aren't many fights left for him. You can only wish he leaves the Octagon on a high after another frustrating display.