“The Korean Zombie” is now a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
Chan Sung Jung defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision after a hard-fought battle in the main event of UFC on ESPN 25. After his post-fight interview, his coach awarded him with his BJJ black belt.
Completely surprised by the promotion, Jung (17-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) couldn’t hold back his excitement as he grinned from ear to ear.
After a dominant performance, @KoreanZombieMMA received his BJJ black belt 👏 #UFCVegas29 pic.twitter.com/RcRLdVBBN0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 20, 2021
During the post-fight news conference, Jung spoke on what the moment meant to him.
“I’m super happy with the win, but I’m really happy with receiving my black belt,” Jung told MMA Junkie through a translator. “I don’t roll in the gi as much, but I’ve rolled no-gi so much that I love the sport. I’m super thankful to Santino Defranco, my jiu-jitsu coach, for giving me my black belt today.”
Defranco posted a statement along with a team photo on Instagram following the fight.
What a special moment. Congratulations @koreanzombiemma on the dominant performance over a top ranked opponent. Next up, title shot! Thank you to everyone at @fightready for all your help. It takes a village. #mma #winner #ufc #ufcwinner #koreanzombie #zombie
‘Zombie’ was very proud to become a black belt on Saturday evening, in fact, he wore the belt draped over his shoulders during all of his post-fight media obligations.
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