Brian Ortega looked like a seasoned striker when he battled Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Island 6, consistently outlanding The Korean Zombie over five rounds.
The grudge match between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung was finally held at UFC Fight Island 6 in the headlining bout. They were originally supposed to fight in December, but Ortega suffered a knee injury that pushed things back. Their distaste for each other stems from an altercation that Ortega had with The Korean Zombie’s translator at a past UFC event.
Ortega had not fought since December 2018, missing the entirety of last year due to a slew of injuries. His last appearance was a one-sided loss to former champion Max Holloway. Jung is coming off a pair of fantastic first round finishes against Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar that both occurred since Ortega’s last fight.
Jung threw a combination right out of the gate that came up short and Ortega responded with a hard leg kick. Both men landed leg kicks and Ortega fired a jab through the middle. A two-punch combination for Jung followed a leg kick for Ortega. More jabs came through for Ortega, who was successfully keeping the Zombie at bay. A hard counter right landed for Ortega followed by a hook that knocked Jung down. He got back up and Ortega continued to win the striking exchanges in the first round.
Jung started the second round with a leg kick as the opposite-handed featherweights pawed at each other’s lead hands. Jung charged in with a combination to find his first true success on the feet, then avoided the takedown. An overhand left connected for Ortega and Jung fired back with a one-two combination that found a home. A crisp uppercut landed for Jung and Ortega went to the body with a kick to counter. Ortega charged in with a combination but was knocked down with a beautiful spinning elbow. Zombie popped back up and started trading with Ortega, popping him with a clean uppercut. Ortega then rushed in and got a takedown, landing a punch and an elbow before the end of the round.
THE SPINNING ELBOW 🤯
🔥 Ortega and Zombie are starting to trade!
[ #UFCFightIsland6 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/FTmFbvxXom
— UFC (@ufc) October 18, 2020
Ortega’s jab stayed steady in the third round. Jung’s output was low in the middle round, having just been knocked down at the end of the second. He was able to land a combination then ate a leg kick from Ortega. Ortega went to the body with a straight punch, then used a double-jab into a takedown attempt that he let go of to land a hook. Ortega went to the spinning elbow again, but was countered by Jung. Ortega connected with a front kick to close out the round.
Jung came out a bit more aggressive in the fourth round, firing a head kick and backing Ortega to the fence. Ortega circled out and landed a looping left hand. Jung landed a sharp left of his own. Ortega drove in for a single leg takedown and brought him to the opposite side of the cage and got him down. After they stood up, Jung had a cut over his left eye that caused a brief pause in the action so the doctor could take a look. The doctor saw nothing wrong and the fight resumed.
With his back against the wall, Jung was expected to push the pace, but Ortega’s jab was simply too much to handle for the Zombie. Ortega was mixing up his strikes with attacks coming from many different angles to keep Jung off balance. With under a minute left, Jung began ramping up his attack, landing a few hooks, but it was far too little, far too late against Ortega. It was a phenomenal performance for Ortega, who looked like a completely different fighter from the one that made a run at the featherweight belt.
Dana White announced after the fight that Ortega was going to get the next title shot at Alexander Volkanovski.
Brian Ortega def. Chan Sung Jung by Unanimous Decision (50-45 x3)
