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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo went down with an injury this month, pulling him out of UFC 149 and moving his return date back to October, his challenger, Erik Koch, opted to hold out with him to take the title fight.
However, with the delay, there's another name who has emerged and wants his own shot at the 25-year-old Brazilian Champion: "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung.
Jung has been immensely exciting in his UFC run thus far. After notching the first ever twister submission in UFC history in his debut last year, he then knocked out title challenger Mark Hominick in just seven seconds in his second fight. Those two fights got him a fight with Dustin Poirier in May, and Jung took that opportunity for a breakout performance.
He was expected to lose to Poirier in that fight, and instead he mostly dominated the action in an immensely exciting back and forth fight. After notching a sweet D'Arce choke submission in that fight, Jung wants to get his own fight with Aldo, and he has a very bold prediction as well.
"I want Jose Aldo," Jung wrote on Twitter on Friday. "I will end his reign as a Champion."
The UFC hasn't officially confirmed that Koch will remain in the Aldo fight come October, and UFC President Dana White has been noncommittal when asked due to the layoff. That means it's certainly in the realm of possibility for the UFC to give Jung that bout.
Penick's Analysis: I'm very high on Koch, and want to see him get his shot considering he was booked in the fight. That said, he doesn't have a better claim to the shot than Jung, and indeed Jung's last two wins - which have both come while Koch's been on the sidelines - are better than Koch's best wins. The UFC may decide to strike with the Jung fight in Brazil in October for Aldo, then have Koch face the winner afterward. It would be an unfortunate demotion for Koch, but it's definitely a possibility.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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