Chan Sung Jung is coming off the seventh win of his UFC career. He spent time preparing for the contest at the aptly named Fight Ready gym in Arizona and it sounds like the Korean will be a regular visitor,
“Captain Eric Albarracin made every training session seem like the real deal. From entering Fight Ready to sparring, he made it seem like a real fight. I wasn’t able to tell the difference and it’s all thanks to him.”
In quotes transcribed by MMA Mania the Korean made it clear that the coaches and training partners at Fight Ready has played a big part in his decision win over Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 29,
“For weeks, I prepared for this very exact moment and that’s when I realized that I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of. All I had to do was fight and spar like I had trained. It was fascinating. I want to continue training with Fight Ready so I’ll be coming to the U.S. more often.”
No nerves
Jung says the experience of training in Arizona helped dispel the nerves that he normally feels before a fight,
“I used to be very nervous when I first entered the arena, but now that I’m viewing it from a different perspective, I now understand that I have nothing to be nervous about. I’ve worked my butt off and spent countless days training for this moment. Why should I be nervous? That really helped me calm my nerves before the fight.”
Surprisingly Jung has come in for some online criticism for failing to put on the type of ‘fight of the night’ performance he has been renowned for. Having picked up seven bonuses during his UFC career the 35 year old is upset that people would write him off after one workmanlike decision win,
“I just don’t understand I realized no matter how hard I fight, there will always be people that continue to hate. It doesn’t matter what I do. Win or lose, there are always going to be haters. I’m no longer going to work hard for them since they’ll never change their opinions about me, but instead, I’m going to continue working hard for the people who actually support me.”
Amazing fighters
He suspects that some fans simply do not realize just how high the standard in the UFC is. Jung calls on fans to give fighters support regardless of whether they get the right result in the octagon,
“It really doesn’t matter who’s fighting who, everyone loves a winner and if there is a winner, that must mean that there is someone who lost as well. I am amazed by everyone in the UFC, but not everyone might see it the way that I do. Yes, winning is a big deal, but it would mean a lot if you could support the fighters who did not get a chance to win.”
The featherweight rankings do not appear to have been updated since UFC Vegas 29 but Jung could be set to move up from #4. That would put him within reach of a second title shot and the Korean’s career is back on track after his loss to Brian Ortega, even if some fans clearly don’t appreciate him.
