Brian Ortega has made his comeback to the octagon successful, defeating the “Korean Zombie” in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 180.
The American fighter grabbed his 15th career-win beating Chan Sung Jung (16-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) after a unanimous decision. After almost two years, Ortega (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) came back with style, against one of the top fighters in the featherweight division. All three judges scored convincingly in his favor, 50-45, 50-45, and 50-45.
Brian Ortega (+170) defeats The Korean Zombie by decision (+630) pic.twitter.com/Eh5o1YJgIA
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) October 18, 2020
It was a fabulous match for the former title challenger. The fans who watched this event had a chance to enjoy a spectacular fight, that included a shift of the momentum in the second and two very attractive fighters who clearly wanted to win this contest.
Yet, it was Ortega who outpowered Jung, and announced his comeback to the big stage. After the match, the entire MMA community had nothing but positive comments on his appearance, and many of them already see him as the next opponent of the current featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski.
After examining one another in the opening two minutes of the first, the action began to pile up. Ortega was the one who drew the first blood, with a strong left hook, followed with Jung’s trip to the floor after another god hit of the American.
The Korean fighter was in a position to change the course of the event in the second round. He had the initiative back then, making several strong punching combinations before losing the swing in the late stage of that sequence. Ortega’s spinning elbow shook Jung, who was hurt pretty badly after that.
The Korean fighter fell on the ground twice after rival’s vicious strikes, but fortunately, the end of the round saved him this time. From this moment on, everything was under Ortega’s control, with the American not allowing the opponent to feel comfortable all the way to the end.
Stiff jabs and occasional combinations, which included the same, mixed with body shots, kept Jung on the distance. With the end approaching, the Korean tried to find a way to surprise Ortega and end the bout, but that simply couldn’t happen.
For Jung, this was the third loss in six matches, but what is more important, his two-match winning streak is stopped.
Meanwhile, Ortega now has to choose what to do next. Many believe he has the strength to challenge Volkanovski, but attacking the champ with just one fight in 22 months, might be tricky.