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A fight over a year in the making may have produced the next challenger for Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title.
Brian Ortega beat Chan Sung Jung by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Island 6 Saturday, Oct. 17 in Abu Dhabi.
This fight was originally scheduled for December of 2019 but Ortega was forced out of the bout due to an ACL injury.
Jung, also known as The Korean Zombie, remained on the card that night, knocking out Frankie Edgar in the first round.
It was his second straight first round finish.
In February, Jung had eye surgery that postponed any potential matchup with Ortega.
A month later, the 29-year-old Ortega slapped rapper Jay Park at UFC 248.
Park had previously served as an interpreter for Jung.
At one time, Ortega labeled Park an “instigator.”
Ortega had not been seen in the octagon since December 8, 2018 when he lost to former featherweight champion, Max Holloway, due to doctor stoppage.
It was his first career loss.
This time around, Ortega donned a more composed demeanor with crisp and steady striking.
Early and often, he used numerous leg and front body kicks.
At one point in the first round, Ortega caught a body kick from Jung and dropped him with a left hand.
There was more output from The Korean Zombie in the second round before that was put to a screeching halt when Ortega landed a spinning back elbow that dropped him with 52 seconds left.
Ortega found more success in the third round with blistering hooks that landed with precision.
Similar to the first round, Ortega caught a kick from Jung, this time pushing him toward the fence before firing a right hand and right elbow.
The right elbow landed flush and cut Jung, referee Lukasz Bosacki momentarily stopped the bout for the doctor to take a look at the damage.
Even with the strong showing, Ortega turned in his most crisp performance for the fifth round.
He landed 35 strikes in the fifth round, the highest of any round of the fight.
Ortega landed 60 percent of his total strikes, landing 120 in all.
The Korean Zombie only landed 64 total strikes during the five rounds, good for 39 percent of his output.
In all facets of the game Ortega was dominant, landing three takedowns and securing two knockdowns.
The win takes Ortega to 15-1 overall with a heavy expectation to challenge for Volkanovski’s Featherweight championship.
Jung drops to 16-6 overall with a 3-3 record in his last six bouts.