Brian Ortega, coach Rener Gracie issue apologies to Jay Park, ‘Korean Zombie’ over UFC 248 slap

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Brian Ortega, coach Rener Gracie issue apologies to Jay Park, ‘Korean Zombie’ over UFC 248 slap

It appears Brian Ortega has changed his tune from his initial statement.

Ortega didn’t compete at UFC 248, but he’s been a front-and-center topic of discussion since last Saturday, when he was escorted out of the arena for slapping Chan Sung Jung’s manager, rapper Jay Park.

Ortega was unhappy with some of the things Park had said when translating Jung’s words, accusing Ortega of ducking him when he pulled out of their UFC on ESPN+ 23 headliner due to a knee injury late last year.

So when Ortega saw Park at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he confronted him by slapping him in the face while Jung was at the bathroom. Ortega issued a statement after the altercation, giving a backhanded apology that he later deleted.

Park hasn’t pressed charges and said he likely won’t, which would spare Ortega from any legal issues. On Tuesday night, Ortega took to Twitter to issued what he called an official apology to Park, telling Jung that he’ll be waiting for him until he’s recovered from his eye injury.

I want to officially apologize to JPark for Saturday night, when Zombie is ready we can fight.

Ortega’s jiu-jitsu coach and mentor, Rener Gracie, also issued an apology over social media to Jung, who attended one of his seminars a few years ago in Korea. Jung was unhappy with Gracie’s comment when he defended Ortega’s actions for “slapping an instigator.”

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I took Brian under my wing at 13 years old, and since then he’s become of one of my best friends. He’s one of the most loyal and talented people I’ve ever met, but sometimes his emotions get the best of him. On Saturday night, his emotions got the best of him, and as his older brother, I will make sure he learns from this. Furthermore, when I made a comment on Brian’s post, it was clear that I took some of the trash talking directed at him personally, and my emotions got the best of me as well. _ The sequence of events is an unfortunate reminder that MMA is an entertainment sport, and regardless of what trash talking takes place outside of the ring, any and all fighting or physicality should only take place between the fighters and should always take place in the octagon. _ I too remember when you attended my seminar in Korea over three years ago. It was one of the highlights of my Asia tour. You were humble, respectful, and very technical. To this day, the training session I had with you remains one of my all-time favorites. _ I apologize for my comment, and I’m sorry your friend Jay Park had to experience the events that unfolded. _ Rener G.

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To @KoreanZombieMMA

I took Brian under my wing at 13 years old, and since then he’s become of one of my best friends. He’s one of the most loyal and talented people I’ve ever met, but sometimes his emotions get the best of him. On Saturday night, his emotions got the best of him, and as his older brother, I will make sure he learns from this. Furthermore, when I made a comment on Brian’s post, it was clear that I took some of the trash talking directed at him personally, and my emotions got the best of me as well.
_
The sequence of events is an unfortunate reminder that MMA is an entertainment sport, and regardless of what trash talking takes place outside of the ring, any and all fighting or physicality should only take place between the fighters and should always take place in the octagon.
_
I too remember when you attended my seminar in Korea over three years ago. It was one of the highlights of my Asia tour. You were humble, respectful, and very technical. To this day, the training session I had with you remains one of my all-time favorites.
_
I apologize for my comment, and I’m sorry your friend Jay Park had to experience the events that unfolded.
_
Rener G.

After undergoing successful eye surgery, Jung said he’s targeting a summer return, which could lead to a highly anticipated rebooking with Ortega, which UFC president Dana White said he’s interested in making.

Brian Ortega, coach Rener Gracie issue apologies to Jay Park, 'Korean Zombie' over UFC 248 slap