Following UFC Fight Night 104 in Houston, Texas on Saturday, February 4, UFC President Dana White made a rather weird comparison between the returning Chan Sung Jung and late boxing legend, Muhammad Ali.
“The Korean Zombie” made his comeback at the Toyota Center after spending more than three years out of action due to injury and military service. However, opponent Dennis Bermudez almost spoiled the homecoming for Zombie, testing his chin early on in the fight, wobbling the South Korean with a looping right hand.
Despite a solid start from Bermudez, Zombie managed to stuff the New Yorker’s takedown attempts and at the 2:49 mark of round one, caught Bermudez with a right uppercut, to send over 8,000 fans into a frenzy.
Dana White applauses The Korean Zombie and compares his return to Muhammad Ali’s in 1970
White spoke backstage after the event to UFC reporter Megan Olivi but seemed to get caught up in the nostalgia of Zombie’s return making a wild comparison between his comeback and Muhammad Ali’s in 1970.
“It was a very, very good card, obviously some great knockouts, some great submissions and obviously the return of ‘The Korean Zombie’,” began the UFC President after Jung’s sensational knockout. “You know, I don’t know in fight history anybody who’s ever come back for being off for three years – actually, it was three years and six months – and looking the way he looked tonight, not even Muhammad Ali.
“Muhammad Ali was a different fighter after returning but ‘The Korean Zombie’ is back. He makes an already exciting division even more exciting now so it’s good to have him back and I look forward to seeing what’s next for him.”
Is there any substance to White’s claims?
There may be a slight comparison for The Korean Zombie and Ali’s lay-offs, but in all honesty, it comes across as purely baffling hyperbole.
During the period between 1967 and 1970, Ali had his boxing license suspended after being convicted of draft evasion.
There was great, on-going battle between Ali; newly converted to ‘the nation of Islam’, and the American State during his appeals process. It was fully overturned in 1971, after much protest, which saw the American public gain a huge amount of affinity for Ali and his anti-political stance on the Vietnam war.
During his time away from the boxing ring, Ali made a widespread impact on the political landscape, not only for his refusal to fight in Vietnam but in a battle for acceptance between the religion of Islam and the contemporary world.
The story behind Jung’s absence and Ali’s legacy
Jung’s situation was extremely different. The Korean Zombie willingly served his two-year mandatory service, for the most part, behind a desk. When he spoke to MMA Plus before UFC Houston, Jung admitted to being given a government office job due to his injuries occurred in MMA.
White’s words claiming that Ali never looked as good after his hiatus also come across as a little strange. Although the legendary boxer went 29-0 before his banning, it wasn’t until the period after his return where he gained true acclaim.
His legendary fights against Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Leon Spinks (among others) are written into boxing history. Of course, it is deduced that the incredible damage Ali took in those fights to be the main reason of his eventual ill-health and passing in June, 2016.
The Korean Zombie may have scored a startling knockout in Houston, but there’s no denying he had to take a few unnecessary ones to the chin before the finish.
With Jung, “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim and “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi now key figures for breaking into the Korean market, it is plausible why Dana would talk-up Jung in such a manner. But his narrative; clinging onto the most trivial link between Jung and Ali, makes his artificial narrative feel forced and hard to buy.
What do you think about White’s comments? Leave a comment below.
