The Korean Zombie may not be done with fighting after all.
This Saturday, Zombie — real name Chan Sung Jung — faces Max Holloway in the main event of UFC Singapore. Zombie last fought at UFC 273, where he suffered a one-sided beating at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski, which led Zombie to contemplate retirement. But when Holloway called him out earlier this year, Zombie immediately shifted gears. And now heading into their fight this weekend, Zombie says he might not be finished quite yet.
“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen,” Zombie said through an interpreter at UFC Singapore media day. “It’s very difficult for a fighter to acknowledge that one’s career has ended. I’ll have to see how well I fight in the octagon. I’ll have to assess myself on this fight, and then decide what’s going on next.”
Zombie is one of the most well-respected fighters still competing. The first fighter ever to secure a Twister submission in the UFC, Zombie has earned nine performance bonuses in his career and won Fight of the Year in 2012 for his victory over Dustin Poirier. Zombie is among the last of the generation of featherweights who came up with Jose Aldo, and in Holloway he sees another legend of the game to square off with.
“I’ve wanted to fight Holloway forever,” Zombie said. “Whenever I imagine me fighting Holloway, I also expect a slugfest to happen. Both fighters are going to be worn out to the very bottom, so it’s going to be a very fun fight.”
While Zombie foresees another great fight to both men’s resumés, oddsmakers disagree. Holloway is a prohibitive betting favorite at -750, meaning he has an implied win probability of 88.2 percent. Zombie doesn’t see it that way though.
Setting aside all talks of retirement, Zombie says he’s coming to win on Saturday.
“I respect Max,” Zombie continued. “He’s a living legend. He’s a legend in this division. I’ve fought three legends here in this division: I fought Jose Aldo, I fought Volkanovski. I respect Max, but just because I respect him does not mean I’m going to go easy on him. I expect to win this fight. I’m going to go hard on him.”