LAS VEGAS – Chan Sung Jung is still pushing for the next UFC featherweight title shot, and he had the chance to tell champion Alexander Volkanovski to his face that he wants a crack at his gold.
Jung (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) had an encounter in the lobby of the New York New York Hotel on Thursday. Nothing got too heated, according to “The Korean Zombie,” but he had a critical takeaway.
“We bumped into each other in the lobby earlier today,” Jung told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “His eyes looked like he was a little afraid.”
Jung has made a case to be next in line for the belt with consecutive first-round knockout wins over Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano. Unfortunately, his timing seemed off after a recent eye surgery and the fact that all signs point to Volkanovski defending his belt in June at UFC 251 in Perth, Australia.
Former titleholder Max Holloway, who Volkanovski took the belt from in December, also seems to be in good position for a rematch, but Jung said a potential lingering injury to the champ could throw a wrench in the plan. Moreover, Jung doesn’t love the idea of the UFC running that fight back immediately.
“I heard his hand is not healed yet, so we’re hoping that will be true,” Jung said. “The percentages of a rematch and the person that lost the first fight winning, the percentage is so low I don’t understand why they would even do that. I didn’t think that fight was too close. We thought Volkanovski won. I don’t know how (Holloway) got that rematch. No one really gets rematches. We’ll see. I want it now, but I’m willing to wait. If we have to go through another guy, we will.”
If the stars do align and Jung gets his show, he believes he’s got a stylistic advantage over the champ that would allow him to claim the gold.
“The shorter guys are easy for me,” Jung said.
