Chan Sung Jung

Who is Chan Sung Jung?

Chan Sung Jung is a South Korean professional MMA fighter known for his aloof demeanor and small, skinny, but densely packed body. Chan Sung Jung is also a master of Taekwondo, Hapkido, Judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

When we think of MMA fighting and fighters, we often envision a builder with a massive body (which is a hulk?).

Anyway, let’s be honest here and avoid going off on a tangent.

In truth, he is not the fastest, strongest, or tallest of the men you meet.

Because he is so well-rounded and unpredictable, Sung Jung will not put all of his eggs in one basket.

As a result, people have appropriately dubbed him “The Korean Zombie” for his lethal avatar during fights, who would continue to haunt the continuing violent fight.

The WEC, Pancrase, World Victory Road, and DEEP have all featured the zombie-like fighter.

Sung Jung is currently participating in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Featherweight category (UFC).

“I believe that many people underestimate me as a fighter, which leads to others wanting to challenge me because they believe it will be an easy win.” “I’m determined to prove them incorrect.”-Jung, Chan Sung

More about Chan Sung Jung

Chang Sung Jung | Body Metrics, Workout, and Diet

Chang Sung Jung is a medium-sized man who stands at 5 ft 9.5 in (1.77 m) and weighs 145 lb (66 kg).

Similarly, the warrior trains out and eats healthily every day.

He consumes a lot of protein and nutrient-dense foods.

However, following his terrible loss against Brian Ortega, he gained 20 kgs due to overeating.

Furthermore, he believed his career was ended, and the setback had a negative impact on his mental health.

Nonetheless, the Korean Zombie got back on his feet and began his healing process by speaking with a psychiatrist.

Following that, he resumed his training and appeared to be in good shape in his recent fight against Dan Ige.

He is also a slim, fair-skinned man with short black hair and eyes the same color as his hair.

He also has an oval face, chinky eyes, and a big smile.

Chan Sung Jung | Childhood

Chang Sung Jung was born on March 17, 1987, in Pohang, South Korea, as a Pisces.

Not to mention his miserable childhood, which caused him to grow up introverted and lonely.

As I take you to his birthday, you should know that his hometown is a port famed for steelyards and shipbuilding, and he has no single siblings.

Moving on, his parents were always working, thus he was deprived of their attention.

What’s more, he grew up with other people’s families till the age of seven, and because he didn’t get enough quality time on his own, he assumed they were his parents.

Sung’s father used to work in the steel industry, mostly carrying objects out of hot ovens because he wasn’t a particularly strong person.

Meanwhile, his mother worked in a clothing company she owned in the city of Daegu, thus they were living apart.

While all of this may appear dismal to us, it is extremely normal in Korea because people prioritize jobs the most.

Later, at the age of eight, he returned to live with his family, and he was always the quiet, loner kid with no self-confidence, which explains why he never had many friends throughout middle school.

Overall, studying in Nam Yam Ju was difficult.

He was from a distant location and was reclusive, making him an outcast at school, and he was frequently bullied.

Combat Sports (Commencement)

Overall, seeing him in that state inspired his aunt to enroll him in athletics and martial arts.

Sung’s aunt forced him into Hapkido classes and gyms when he was fourteen (early adolescence), which he found pretty boring at first.

However, as time passed, he grew accustomed to it, honing his social skills and beginning to study kickboxing, which proved to be a watershed moment in his life, propelling him to where he is now.

Following that, he graduated from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and began training in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

When Chan Sung Jung was in his late teens (around the age of 18), he began taekwondo and joined the South Korean Navy.

In 2007, he won his first sambo event, which was organized by the Korean Sambo Association.

Following that, he won competitions like the Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Tournament’s Lightweight division, defeating Yoo In Seok and Lee Hyung Geol.

Following that, in 2008, he made his professional mixed martial arts debut, winning the whole KOREA-8-man FC’s MMA tournament in the 65 kg division.

Who would have believed such a bashful kid would have to make it through?

Anyway, he extended his streak by appearing in the 2007 Korean television cable show Street Fighter.

He won the show in the 70 kg weight category competition, which was merely a stand-up bout and not a ring fight.

A career in Mixed Martial Arts

As previously stated, Sung Jung made his professional MMA debut in 2007, when he won the Pancrase Korea Lightweight Tournament in December.

Following that, he won both of his battles for Japanese company DEEP after winning the Korean FC in 2008.

For example, one of his two fights for the DEEP was a unanimous decision victory over Michihiro Omigawa on August 16, 2008.

In contrast, his other victory came against Fanjin Son at DEEP: 39 Impact, when he was knocked out in 17 seconds.

Sengoku

Chan Sung Jung made his Sengoku debut in 2009 at the Featherweight Grand-Prix, defeating Shintaro Ishiwatari in the first round at Sengoku 7.

At 4:29 of the first round, he won with a right-hand strike followed by a rear-naked choke submission as Shintaro surrendered.

He advanced to the second round of Sengoku 8 on May 2, 2009, after winning the first round.

Unfortunately, he was eliminated in a unanimous decision by eventual winner Masanori Kanehara.

Due to Sengoku’s prejudiced past against Koreans, the game caused great dissatisfaction among fans.

Even so, let’s go on to the following game on June 7, 2009, when he faced American Matt Jaggers in a reserve bout for the tournament at Sengoku 9.

At the same time, the winner was supposed to step up as a substitute; however, despite winning the match with a triangle choke submission at 1:25 of the second round, Sung Jung was not given precedence.

Extreme Cagefighting Around the World

Chan Sung Jung made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut on April 24, 2010, after signing with them.

At WEC 48, he made his debut against Leonard Garcia (for the injured Cub Swanson).

However, he was defeated by a split decision, sparking debate about the fight’s judges’ verdict.

By the end of the controversy, he had won Fight of the Night and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter had declared it the Fight of the Year.

As a result, he advanced to the following match against George Roop on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51, which again ended in a knockout loss in the second round.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

1. January 22, 2011 (UFC Fight Night 23): Withdrew from the fight against Rani Yahya due to an injury.
2. March 26, 2011 (UFC Fight Night 24): In place of the injured Nam Phan, he defeated Garcia with a twister in the final second of the second round.
3. Victory over Mark Hominick via KO at 7 seconds of the first round on December 10, 2011.
4. (UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier, May 15, 2012): In the fourth round, he submitted Dustin Poirier.
5. On July 6, 2013 (UFC 162), he was scheduled to meet Ricardo Lamas, however, he backed out.
6. August 3, 2013 (UFC 163): Replaced the injured Anthony Pettis against José Aldo, losing via TKO in the fourth round due to a dislocated shoulder.
7. October 4, 2014 (UFC Fight Night 53): Match against Akira Corassani, but he pulled out due to injury, therefore Max Holloway took his place.
8. As he advanced in mid-October, Chan Sung Jung indicated that he needed to return to his own land for mandatory military service and that he would return for the bout in two years, according to his management.

Before continuing on his trip, allow me to highlight his accomplishments up to October 2014.

• The World MMA Awards named him Submission of the Night and Submission of the Year (2011)
• Honors for Knockout of the Night (2011)
• Honors for Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night (2012)

Following Military Service

While serving in the military full-time, he attended Rener Gracie’s inaugural Korean Super Seminar in Seoul in mid-2016.

1. Faced on February 4, 2017 (UFC Fight Night 104): Dennis Bermudez won the first round via knockout.
2. July 29, 2017 (UFC 214): Was scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas but withdrew due to a knee injury, therefore Jason Knight took his place.
3. Match versus Frankie Edgar on November 10, 2018 (UFC Fight Night 139), but Yair Rodrguez replaced him due to an injury. Sung Jung, on the other hand, was knocked out in the final second of the fifth round.
4. June 22, 2019 (UFC on ESPN+ 12): defeated Renato Moicano via technical knockout in 58 seconds of the first round.
5. December 21, 2019 (UFC on ESPN+ 23): Match against Brian Ortega; however, Brian withdrew due to a knee injury, so Frankie Edgar was brought in as a replacement. Jung took the victory through TKO in the first round.
6. The fight against Brian Ortega was rescheduled for October 18, 2020 (UFC Fight Night 180), but was defeated by a unanimous decision.

Chan Sung Jung had accumulated the following milestones by the end of this match.

• Bonus award for Best Performance of the Night (2017)
• Honors for Fight of the Night (2018)
• Award for Best Performance of the Night (2019)
• Bonus award for Best Performance of the Night (2019)

Fighting Style

Chan Sung Jung is known for his relentless, violent fighting, earning him the moniker “The Korean Zombie.”

Unlike other players that play wild and chaotic, Sung Jung is a rare fighter who expresses themselves via their moves.

Overall, if you are seeking aggressive, lethal encounters, he is the one you have been looking for because he knows just to move forward to take the opponent’s soul regardless of his condition.

Overall, he has set the record for winning a bout with a twister submission, the first in UFC history.

On the broadcast team, Michael Bisping commented, “We call him the Zombie but don’t get me wrong, he has terrific technique.”

It is the combination of technique and the drive to win every battle.

Chan’s become quite tactical through the years, and he still feels he can be a champion one day.”

Highlights and Achievements

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

• The Night’s Submission (Two times)
• The Night’s Knockout (One time)
• The Night’s Fight (Two times)
• The Night’s Performance (Three times)
• Most fight-night bonuses in the history of the UFC Featherweight division

Extreme Cagefighting Around the World

• The Night’s Fight (One time)

KoreaFC

• Tournament Korea FC 65 kg (Winner)

Pancrase

• Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Lightweight Championship (Winner)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• Fight of the Year 2010
• Fight of the Year 2012 Fight of the Year (by MMAFighting.com, ESPN MMA Awards, and Bleacher Report)

 World MMA Awards

• 2011 Submission of the Year

Sherdog

• 2011 All-Violence First Team

MMA Statistics

Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings

Chan is estimated to have a net worth of $1 million as of 2022.

So far, he has earned $1.5 million through UFC fights, with the highest purse money in his career being $200,000.

In addition, his career earnings total $1,212,000.

He was also formerly endorsed by the MMA clothing firm and fighter sponsor Tri-Coasta, which produced his characteristic “Korean Zombie” t-shirt.

That exact t-shirt went viral, with even President Dana White and longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan wearing it.

Also read: Jennifer Dempster,                             Sean Marks,                      Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Love Life and Social Media

Chan Sung Jung is a father of two children.

He married his longtime fiancée Park Sun Young in 2014, and the couple still lives happily with their kids, Jung Min Seo and Jung Eun Seo.

The pair frequently shares photos of their family time together on social media.

@koreanzombiemma on Instagram
@KoreanZombieMMA on Twitter