Nothing Personal, It’s Just The Fight Business

Photo by Woohae Cho/Zuffa LLC

Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung may not like each other all that much, but their upcoming fight on October 17, 2020 — which will likely go down on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — isn’t all that personal.

At least not on “T-City’s” end.

Indeed, the former Featherweight title contender tells MMA Junkie, that despite the uptick in intrigue in the fight following his altercation with Jay Park — “Korean Zombie’s” friend and translator — his emotions don’t involve any hatred toward Jung.

“(It’s) not personal at all. I handled my moment, I did what I did, and that was it. I don’t think about it too much. I don’t think about it on the daily. It doesn’t bother me.”

At UFC 248 Ortega ran into Park in the stands and gave him an old fashion slap after “T-City” took exception to comments the K-Pop star made about him in an interview. Brian was escorted out of the arena and later apologized for his actions.

But that’s all in the past and Ortega says he isn’t losing any sleep over the incident, though it did serve as a warning to anyone who talks sideways about him that it won’t be taken lightly.

“I don’t look at that as bad blood or anything. Like Logan Paul said, even after I did my incident, I walked past him and I was very calm. But man: Talk (expletive), get hit. That’s where I come from,” he added before saying that just like Nate and Nick Diaz , he isn’t afraid to give a good smack to anyone who talks to him a certain way.

“The Diaz brothers are not the only ones from a city where if you’re acting a certain way, you get slapped. As much as you grow up and try to learn things and do better, sometimes it comes out – and it came out.”

Ortega admits the fight may be semi-personal on “Korean Zombie’s” end but he looks at it as the chance to hit someone in the face he doesn’t care too much for without going to jail, or be escorted out of the arena.

“A slugfest basically,” Ortega said when revealing what he expects come fight night. “Me and him kind of already have our thing where we want to hit each other in the face. So honestly, I just see a slugfest and some technical work. But yeah – we kind of don’t like each other.”

The winner of the 145-pound match up is expected to earn a title shot against current division champion, Alexander Volkanovksi.

“From what I’ve heard, and I’ve posted on my social media and Dana White’s said it himself – he said the winner of this fight gets the shot to fight for the belt,” Ortega said. “I don’t make the rules. I don’t do nothing – it came straight from the horse’s mouth. I’ve never heard him talk about anybody else having a title shot after their fight. I heard it from this fight.”