It’s been a while since we’ve seen Chan Sung Jung inside the Octagon.
The “Korean Zombie” was last seen competing back in August 2013. Jung then took a hiatus from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) in order to fulfill his mandatory military duties in South Korea.
Jung will make his return this Saturday night (Feb. 4) at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Fight Night event in Houston. His opponent is Dennis Bermudez.
MMAFighting.com recently caught up to Jung. The featherweight said the thought of dropping his professional MMA career never crossed his mind:
“I was always planning on coming back. I had no thoughts of retirement. Especially since I have two daughters now, I have to take care of my family.”
Many have wondered just how prepared Jung is. Not much was known about his duties while serving for the military. Jung said his situation allowed him to train while he was away from the sport.
“Yes, since I started work early in the morning, I was able to finish early enough to make it to team practice most days. I didn’t train as intensely as I normally would have, so I focused more heavily on improving my skills in the different disciplines.”
Back in Nov. 2015, the UFC held its first event in South Korea. The card was headlined by a welterweight clash between former 155-pound UFC champion Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal. The event saw over 12,000 fans in attendance inside the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
Jung admitted it was difficult for him to watch the event unfold rather than compete at home.
“It was really, really tough. I went to the event, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd that excited throughout the whole event. The atmosphere was electric all night. I can’t wait for the next UFC event in Korea.”
