As the biggest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC now has fighters from different nationalities fighting under their banner. While it would provide the promotion with a more varied line-up of matchups, it also poses problems, like the language barrier.
Last Saturday, the latest UFC pay-per-view event featured three fighters that barely speak English fighting on the main card. Even though the UFC provides translators for them, not every translation is guaranteed to be perfect. Some even resulted in a different meaning than the original statements.
Like what happened during Chan Sung Jung’s post-fight octagon interview for the main event of UFC 273. The main event saw the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski secure another title defence after finishing Jung by TKO in the 4th round.
During the interview, ‘The Korean Zombie’ stated that he would reconsider his future in fighting after this loss. But fans who understand Korean point out on Twitter that there’s a part that Jung’s translator seemingly forgot to mention.
Apparently, the missing part is about Jung realising that he knows he won’t be fighting for the UFC belt anymore. If true, that can be linked to the part where he questions his future as a professional fighter.
https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang/status/1513028968827346949?s=20&t=OkWEQhui9HJlS7csoJspCA
My heart breaks for Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung. The translator forgot to mention that TKZ stated he no longer believes he can be champion. It was a hell of a run nonetheless. #UFC273
— Martin (@Legionaire04) April 10, 2022
I think it’s important to share that The Korean Zombie said this in his parting words to Joe Rogan.
He told the translator that he doesn’t think that he’s going to be fighting for the championship anymore. He wants to think about what he’s fighting for moving forward. #UFC273
— EK (@EdwardsKim) April 10, 2022
The fight against Volkanovski marked the second attempt by Jung to claim the UFC gold, the first one coming 8 years prior in August 2013. The 35-year-old is well-known as a fan-favorite fighter throughout his UFC career due to his capability to finish fights in various ways. Jung also holds the record as the first fighter in the UFC to submit his opponent with a twister submission.
During his decorated career, he has beaten the likes of Dustin Poirier, Frankie Edgar, and Dan Ige. But now, with the veteran’s chance of securing another title shot getting much slimmer, we might see Jung hang up his gloves soon.