Korean Zombie undergoing eye surgery, unlikely to return before summer

Bloodyelbow.com

Fresh off his first round starching of Frankie Edgar at UFC Busan, in South Korea last December, Chan Sung Jung seemed like a potential front-runner for a second shot at the UFC featherweight title. Talk of a rematch between the recently dethroned Max Holloway and newly minted champ Alexander Volkanovski was the driving narrative from the UFC, but it had been more than six years since the ‘Korean Zombie’ battled Jose Aldo for the belt. A fight between TKZ and Volkanovski would be not just a fresh matchup for fans, but a chance for an all-action favorite to once again prove he’s the best fighter in the world at 145 lbs.

Unfortunately, whether or not the bout was ever one the UFC was interested in considering, it seems fate has had other plans. Jung has been dealing with vision problems for some time now, and MMA Junkie reports that – after consulting multiple specialists – he’s finally decided to undergo surgery to repair his double vision.

“Recently, it has been more important for me to figure out my double vision issue,” Jung told MMA Junkie. “It took a long time to get medical exams done and there was a difference with diagnoses between doctors in Korea and Phoenix.”
“Finally, I decided to get the surgery done in Phoenix soon,” Jung said. “I am sure I will be able to get back to the cage around July or August because the surgeon says it is not a big surgery.”

For the UFC’s part, Dana White recently revealed that the promotion plans to push ahead with the rematch between Holloway and Volkanovski. And while Jung told Junkie he’s still targeting a fight with the champ when he returns, it seems very likely that the winner of a reported upcoming battle between Brian Ortega and Zabit Magomedsharipov could end up streaking past him for the claim of no. 1 contender. Rough luck for the Fight Ready athlete, who has previously seen his career sidelined by shoulder and knee injuries, as well as a stint of required military service. All of which have seen him compete just four times in the last seven years.

Hopefully Jung’s surgery and recovery will all go exactly to plan and fans will see the Korean Zombie back in the title hunt before fall.