UFC: Brian Ortega 2.0 monsters ‘The Korean Zombie’ for unanimous decision and Alex Volkanovski title shot
- ‘I needed to become a new guy and get better at MMA, everything – wrestling, striking,’ says ‘T-City’, after two years away revamping his game
- Showdown with featherweight champ Volkanovski awaits – ‘We’re gonna find out if I’m ready … you don’t grow in the comfort zone’
Brian Ortega went away for nearly two years, rebuilt his whole game, and made it look utterly easy against one of the most feared strikers in the featherweight division, getting a unanimous decision against “The Korean Zombie” Jung Chan-sung in Sunday’s UFC Fight Island 6 headliner.
The 29-year-old Mexican-American (15-1, one no contest) worked his way to 50-45 scorecards against Jung (16-6) from all three judges in Abu Dhabi.
Having had the stuffing knocked out of him in a one-sided featherweight title fight against Max Holloway (21-6) in December 2018, Ortega now gets another crack – this time at Alex Volkanovski (22-1) – and looks an entirely different, and much upgraded, prospect.
“I got one message. All my homies that rolled with me, even after my last one. I love you. For all you that counted me out, learn to count [expletive],” Ortega told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview in the Octagon inside Flash Forum.
Ortega had shown tremendous heart in that beat down by Holloway, but the doctor did him a favour and stopped the fight before he could fall on his shield in the fifth round.
But not before he had already absorbed the kind of damage that changes fighters – “Blessed” landed a record 290 significant strikes at UFC 231.
