Frankie Edgar’s bantamweight debut is on hold, as he’s stepping up against The Korean Zombie in the main event of UFC Busan.
On Thursday afternoon, MMA Junkie was first to report that Brian Ortega (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will be replaced by Frankie Edgar (21-7-3 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) at UFC Busan. Edgar will now take on Chan Sung Jung (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the main event for Fight Night show.
Brian Ortega revealed through an Instagram post that he had suffered a partial ACL tear during training and that he would have to withdraw from his bout to begin rehab on his knee.
Frankie Edgar was looking for a fresh take on his career with a drop in weight class to bantamweight, and a bout with hot new prospect Cory Sandhagen. That comes after a long and storied career at both lightweight, and most recently, featherweight. A journey that featured three unsuccessful title shots at the latter weight. But it looks like that bout in the co-main event slot at UFC Raleigh on January 25 just might have to wait. Apparently, Edgar still wants the fight but understandably, will have to reevaluate his body and capabilities after Busan card.
Jung, also known as The Korean Zombie, was originally supposed to fight Edgar back in November of 2018, and is coming off of a knockout win against Renato Moicano back in June at UFC on ESPN+ 12. Now Jung looks to put on a show in front of his home crowd with a more storied opponent.
UFC Fight Night 165, also known as UFC Busan, takes place in Busan, South Korea December the 21, 2019.
