‘We All Wanted An Easier Fight’

“He’s kind of going into the tail-end of his career.”

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and longtime 145-pound fan favorite Chan Sung Jung will finally collide in a five-round headliner booked for the upcoming UFC Singapore MMA event on Aug. 26 on ESPN+, a bout that “Blessed” Holloway with a -1000 betting line.

Not surprisingly, Team “Zombie” was hoping to score an easier fight.

“We all wanted an easier fight for him as he’s kind of going into the tail-end of his career, but he’s always looked up to Max and this is the fight he wanted, and we all want to see it,” Jung’s coach, Eddie Cha, told Middle Easy (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “I said, ‘You’ve earned that right to kind of pick and choose who you want to fight with,’ and I think Max wanted it too. I think it’ll hopefully be a great matchup.”

Holloway (24-7) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over top prospect Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City last April on ESPN, keeping the gate to the featherweight title under lock and key. As for Jung (17-7), he was last seen challenging Alex Volkanovski for the 145-pound strap in a brutal, bloody loss at UFC 273 in early 2022.

A lopsided defeat to Holloway could result in Jung’s retirement.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a 10-1 favorite or an underdog, he’s still going to go out there and do his thing,” Cha continued. “But I don’t think there’s any pressure on him at all. He has everything to win. I think Holloway’s ranked No. 1 right now and he has nothing to really lose. More importantly, this is the fight he wanted.”

As they often say in MMA, be careful what you wish for…