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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When Jose Aldo's return to action was pushed back to October, there was an outside chance that Erik Koch could have had his title shot usurped by "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung. However, that is no longer a concern with news on Friday that Jung was going under the knife.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Jung will be undergoing shoulder surgery in the coming week to take care of a lingering issue, and will be out of action at least through November.
The UFC had hoped to book Jung on the Nov. 10 card in Macau, China, but instead he and his team decided to take care of this shoulder issue now. Indeed, he had been advised to pull out of his last fight, a spectacular win over Dustin Poirier, to get this surgery.
With Jung out, Aldo vs. Koch is likely to stay intact, and still believed to be headed to UFC 153 in Brazil this October.
Penick's Analysis: If it's something that almost took him out of the Poirier fight, this is definitely a good idea right now. Lingering issues can only get worse if they aren't addressed, and getting this taken care of now gives him a reason to hang on the sidelines, likely to fight the winner of Aldo vs. Koch early next year. The timing should work out well for that, and he'll then be rested and healthy when he returns to the cage.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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