A black belt in Taekwondo, Judo, Hapkido as well as a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Chan Sung Jung made his MMA debut back in 2007, only 2 years after he joined the Korean Navy at the age of 18. Nicknamed “The Korean Zombie”, Chan Sung Jung is known for his ability to keep moving aggressively forward despite taking even the heaviest of blows.
Jung’s many accolades include winning the Road Fighting Championship (Road FC) and Pancrase Inc. Korea Neo-Blood tournaments, being a former UFC title challenger, achieving the fastest knockout in UFC history and performing the first twister submission finish. Prior to his mandatory military service in 2014, Jung was ranked at number 5 in the UFC Featherweight division. Curious to find out more about this unusual fighter? Then follow on as we countdown The Korean Zombie’s top 5 MMA finishes, in descending order…
- Vs. Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez, UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. Korean Zombie (February 4, 2017)
- Vs. Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier, UFC Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier (May 15, 2012)
- Vs. Leonard Garcia, UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis (March 26, 2011)
- Vs. Fanjin Son, Deep 39: Impact (December 10, 2008)
- Vs. Mark Hominick, UFC 140 (December 10, 2011)
Having left the MMA circuit for military service in 2014, the Korean Zombie returned to the UFC in style 3-years later, as he went on to face Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs Team Miller. Although Bermudez landed some significant strikes on the Korean Zombie, including a hard cross to the chin, and pushing Jung to the edge of the Octagon a couple of times, the Korean Zombie persisted with his extra-high pain threshold and grappling defense. Within 2 minutes and 49 seconds of the first round, Chan Sung Jung managed to counter Bermudez with a knockout uppercut to the chin and achieving his first Performance of the Night bonus.
After piling up notable victories against Leonard Garcia and Mark Hominick, the Korean Zombie became a household name among UFC fans, such that Jung’s next fight with Dustin Poirier became the main event. The Korean Zombie started strong in the first round, having successfully performed two takedowns on Poirier and even cutting Poirier’s forehead open with an elbow. By the second round, the Korean Zombie dominated Poirier in both striking and grappling, pushing Poirier to the corner of the cage multiple times and pummeling him with vicious striking combinations, including a flying knee. At the time, neither fighter had ever fought past the third round, but it wasn’t a problem for the Korean Zombie as he continued to pin Poirier to the corner of the cage and stun him with strikes in the fourth round. Poirier then tried countering with a takedown, but Jung defended well against it and proceeded to submit Poirier via D’Arce (aka, ‘no gi brabo’) choke. As a result, the Korean Zombie earned his second Submission of the Night bonus as well as his first Fight of the Night bonus. By the end of the year, several publications hailed this entertaining spectacle as the Fight of the Year and Submission of the Year. Jung would then move on to fight Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship.
After losing his American MMA debut in WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) to Leonard Garcia by a controversial split decision, Jung replaced the injured Nam Phan to avenge his loss against Garcia a year later. The fight started out with the two men on their feet exchanging blows, but by the final seconds of the second round, Jung took Garcia to the floor and submitted him with a twister. This was the first time in UFC history that a twister submission was used and Jung was awarded Submission of the Night and later Submission of the Year by the World MMA Awards.
After winning the Korea FC and the Pancrase Inc. 2007 Korea Neo-Blood tournaments, Chan-Sung Jung went on to fight for Deep, the Japanese-based MMA promotion facing off against Fanjin Son for his second bout under them. Right when Jung and Son high-five each other, Son tried to catch the Korean Zombie off guard with a left hook, but missed. Jung then managed to control the distance and mix striking combinations with evasions, and swiftly knocked Fanjin Son out with a punch to the face in 17 seconds. This is Jung’s second-fastest knockout in his MMA career.
After making his comeback victory against Garcia in UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis, the Korean Zombie gained another win against former UFC title challenger Mark Hominick over half a year later. To say that Jung knocked out Hominick would be an understatement. Just like the match against Fanjin Son, Hominick also tried to swing a hook at Jung immediately after the two men high-fived each other. Jung evaded, knocked Hominick out with a cross and followed through with the necessary ground and pound. In 7 seconds it was all over and it not only earned the Korean Zombie Knockout of the Night honors; he’d also tied the UFC record for the fastest knockout.
