UFC featherweight contender The Korean Zombie said he’s willing to fight Dan Ige next, but he’s also willing to move up to lightweight.
The Korean Zombie has not fought since last October when he lost a unanimous decision to Brian Ortega in a No. 1 contender fight at 145lbs. Ortega will now face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 260 later this month, while the Zombie is still waiting for an opponent. It’s been nearly six months since the fan-favorite last competed, and he’s getting tired of waiting around for an opponent. While the rest of the top featherweight contenders seem to be getting matched up, the Zombie waits out in the cold.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Korean Zombie explained his frustrations with not being able to get a fight. According to the Zombie, the problem is the rest of the top contenders at 145lbs are either booked, injured, or unwilling to fight him, so he even offered to move up to 155lbs to stay busy, which UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby declined.
“I had recently sat down with Coach Eddie (Cha) and Jason (House), my manager, and had a discussion about moving from the featherweight division to the lightweight division. I asked Sean if I could fight any lightweight fighter ranked in the 15th to 20th place. Nevertheless, I had to give that up after hearing about how long I would have to wait. Since I had nothing scheduled as a featherweight fighter, I thought moving up to the lightweight division wouldn’t be so bad. At least I would be doing something, but sadly, that didn’t work out either,” The Korean Zombie said.
Zombie went through the list of the top-10 featherweights and explained how none of them are available for him to fight except for No. 9 ranked Dan Ige, who knocked out Gavin Tucker in 22 seconds at UFC Vegas 21. With none of the other top contenders available, The Korean Zombie said he’s open to fighting Ige if that’s the fight that the UFC wants. It just so happens that after he knocked out Tucker at UFC Vegas 21, Ige took the microphone and begged the UFC to match him up with Zombie next.
“Dan Ige is scheduled to fight Gavin Tucker on March 13. If Dan Ige wins, he might actually be my next opponent,” The Korean Zombie said.
Do you think The Korean Zombie vs. Dan Ige is the fight to make, or would you rather see the UFC match him up against someone else at 145lbs or 155lbs?