Coach sees 'Korean Zombie' getting title shot if he beats Ortega

Chan Sung Jung is gearing up for his pivotal featherweight bout against Brian Ortega, which will headline UFC Fight Night on Oct. 17. After doing his last two training camps at Fight Ready MMA in Scottsdale, Arizona, "The Korean Zombie" is back in his native South Korea ahead of this fight due to the coronavirus pandemic.

theScore recently caught up with Jung's head coach, Eddie Cha, while he was self-isolating in Seoul to discuss their training plans, what the fight against Ortega means for the division, and much more.

What's the plan after you're done quarantining? Will you go straight into camp at that point?

We're actually already in camp. I already have (Jung) linked up with our strength-and-conditioning coach. He's doing Zoom classes with him. He's sending me the rounds right now - his sparring rounds, his wrestling rounds. I'm sending those out to our coaches, Captain Eric (Albarracin) and Santino Defranco. So, we're not waiting for me to get out. We're actually already in the process of starting camp.

Usually, how we start every camp is (Jung) has got to be ready and in shape before we start working together. Otherwise, we're going to kill the first couple of weeks right there. Now, it's the other way around. I got to be in shape by the time I get out of here. I brought two training partners with me - (UFC veterans) Johnny Case and Bobby Moffett - and they're regiment, as well, so they're staying busy. I told them, 'Look, the minute we get out of here, we're going to get maybe a day, and then we're going to go straight into camp. You guys need to be ready.'

Where will you guys be training?

(Jung) has a gym in Seoul. We're pretty much going to be training there every single day. He got us an Airbnb. It's going to be good. I'm actually looking forward to it. The hardest thing is just being away from family and our fight team. I'm missing a lot of fights coming up here, so I feel kind of bad about those guys.

Why did you guys decide to do this camp in Korea instead of the United States?

Well, all of us wanted to do it in Arizona except Zombie - and he's the person who actually matters. At that time, that was the second wave of the quarantine. Arizona was one of the highest states infected-wise daily - I think we were at 2,000 cases a day. Just a lot of variables. He didn't want to come out over here and take that chance of getting sick and then bringing it back to his family. He asked if we were able to do it out here, and I said, 'I don't know if that's possible.' We had a meeting back in Arizona, and here we are.

How do you think this camp will differ with it being in Korea? Do you expect to face any challenges because of the change in location?

For sure. I think the biggest challenge is not having all our coaching staff and our training partners and a few other things. But that's just part of the fight game, especially with this COVID stuff. You just got to handle the adversity. Our owner, Dave Zowine, he's been fortunate enough to bring us all out here. I was only going to bring one training partner, and he's like, 'Bring two - bring three - just in case something happens.' He's been a huge help for us. Thank goodness for Zoom and all these other gadgets. Without that, it would've been really, really hard.

All the coaches, we're still in communication with each other. I don't think we skipped too much of a beat there. We just need to get out of this quarantine and get to work.

It seems like this fight had been in the works for several months, yet we only found out that it was happening on Oct. 17 within the past couple of weeks. What took so long for it to be a done deal?

COVID-19. I believe we were talking about fighting in August, and then that's when everything shut down - the borders, our gym was shut down at the time. We had to push it back, and then it just got worse, so we had to push it back again. And then here we are. But yeah, that was the only reason. Zombie was completely healed from his eye surgery. I believe Ortega was ready to go. They were kind of jabbing at each other back and forth online.

I'm happy to get this fight going. I'm super excited. I think it's going to be an exciting fight, and we'll see who the next title contender is.

Do you know where the fight will take place - Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi?

I have no idea. I kind of hope it's on Fight Island right now, just because the cage is bigger. I think that definitely favors us. But at the same time, we're preparing for both scenarios. I don't think it matters too, too much, I don't think it's going to be a determining factor. But if I had a choice - it's not necessarily where the fight's at, it's what cage we're going to use - I'd definitely want a bigger cage for Zombie.

It can't be ideal that the UFC hasn't said what size of cage the fight will be in. That could totally change how you prepare, right?

The game plan definitely changes. You're talking about a five-foot radius difference or more. It's a huge, huge difference. Not too big of a difference on our side. If you were looking to get somebody on the cage, I think it's a bigger difference. You're going to need one or two moves as opposed to one hard feint and then stepping forward and pressing him toward that black line - the three-foot line we call it. For us, hopefully, that's not going to make a difference in the fight. We're looking to keep it in the center. It's not a surprise what Zombie's game plan is. But you never know, we might be going for something different in this fight, too.

This is a huge fight for the featherweight division. What do you think is at stake?

We think the title shot is definitely on the line. His last two fights were two knockouts in the first round, one former champion. Ortega is No. 2. He's the highest-ranked behind (former champ Max) Holloway, who just lost. If we go out there and get a victory, if not get a knockout, I can't see the UFC not giving him the next title shot. We've been asking for it before this fight. If he knocks Ortega out, I can't see anyone bypassing him.

Do you feel like there's more buzz for this fight than there was when it was originally scheduled last December? There was an altercation between Ortega and Zombie's friend at a UFC event in March, and now it seems like there's a bit of bad blood between the two of them.

Yes and no. Maybe if they fought right away, three months after that (incident), I think the hype would've been really, really big. But I'm not one to trash talk. I don't really get caught up in that stuff. I just stay focused on what we need to do. ... I just try to focus on how to break down film and how we're going to beat Ortega.

But yeah, it's exciting, I think it makes it fun. I definitely enjoy watching "UFC Countdown" when there's tension and stuff like that. I don't like being in it, but I definitely like watching it. We'll see how they direct the marketing for this fight.

How do you think Zombie and Ortega will interact with each other during fight week? Will they be respectful, or will there be some animosity during things like the weigh-in staredown?

We'll see. Normally, I would say everything's fine, but I know this is a huge fight for (Jung). He rides with a lot of emotion, he fights with emotion. But at the same time, I think both of these guys are professional. No matter how angry you are, you're going to be able to punch each other in the face as hard as you want, kick each other as hard as you want. You can literally do whatever you want except graze the eyes and hit the groin - and get paid for it. So, why would you try to start something the day before? If you're trying to sell the fight, it's great, but anything else, I think it's just stupid.