Chan Sung Jung was one second away from his fifth UFC triumph before Yair Rodriguez dug into his bag of tricks.
The result was an improbable no-look elbow that will live on in highlight reels for years to come. Just like that, “The Korean Zombie” went from up on the scorecards to face down on the canvas. While he did receive a $50,000 bonus for “Fight of the Night” and plenty of acclaim for his role in an all-time great bout, that did little to erase the sting of defeat for the former title challenger.
Jung, who was transported to the hospital following the UFC Fight Night 139 headliner, delivered a message via Facebook on Sunday (translation via Google Translate):
“I don’t have an excuse… I’m so sorry for all the people who helped me…Thank you… Congratulations to those who hate me. I have been in hospital for a few days because I cannot get off the plane yet. I’m ashamed…I’ll go back and see you.”
According to UFC President Dana White, the ending was one for the record books.
“Craziest finish ever,” White said. “There was one second left on the clock when he landed that elbow and Yair was losing 4-1. Zombie had the fight in the bag. He had one more second to go. Wow, what a finish.”
Jung falls to 4-2 during his promotional tenure. The 31-year-old was making his first Octagon appearance since February 2017, when he scored a first-round knockout of Dennis Bermudez in the UFC Fight Night 104 headliner. Prior to that, the South Korean had been on a nearly four-year hiatus to perform mandatory military service in his home country.