Bitter feud erupts over UFC ‘coward’ slap

UFC brawler Brian Ortega was thrown out of UFC 248 yesterday after trying to start a fight with Korean rapper Jay Park, who was part of “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung’s entourage.

After an “all-time classic” co-main event between women’s strawweight’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk and champ Weili Zhang, Ortega took some of the attention out of the octagon.

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Park was sitting with Jung and acting as his translator with eyewitnesses from inside the arena revealing Ortega approached the rapper and “started arguing over some trash talk Jung had engaged in recently”.

Ortega then reportedly slapped Park and was thrown out of the venue by security.

Dana White confirma que Brian Ortega fue retirado de la arena por una disputa con Korean Zombie en la sección de peleadores de la arena. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/rtOM04mBBB

Post-UFC 248, UFC president Dana White said it was a “weird”.

“ (Ortega) and The Zombie got in a fight which is completely unlike both of their personalities,” White said. “Zombie doesn’t even speak English so I don’t know what the hell he could have said to get Ortega to start going crazy but yeah, it was weird. It happened right over in the fighters’ section. It wasn’t backstage. It was in the fighters section and it happened right during the fight.”

But the plot has thickened with the Korean Zombie revealing he was in the bathroom when Ortega approached and struck his guest.

UFC reporter Ariel Helwani tweeted as much last night with Park reportedly telling him the altercation started simply because Ortega asked him if he was Jay Park.

Korean music artist Jay Park, who served as Chan Sung Jung’s translator during his recent appearance on the show, was slapped by Brian Ortega during tonight’s event, Park tells me. A scuffle ensued and then broken up. Ortega took issue with Park’s translation on the show.

Jung took to Instagram on Monday to reveal what happened, calling Ortega a “coward” after waiting until he had gone to the bathroom before striking his guest.

The pic Jung used to call out Ortega on Instagram.Source:Instagram

“Last night, you sat 10 meters away from me and Jay Park,” the message read. “For two hours nothing happened, so I thought everything was fine.

“But you f***ing attacked Jay Park while I went to the bathroom. Jay Park is not a professional fighter but a musician. You slapped a civilian who merely helped translate.

“Even worse, you were sitting there waiting until I would be absent and attacked Jay Park. It was not a fight like real men would do. What you have done is same as a grown up to beat a child. You should have attacked me. If so, I would have not been upset.

“You are such a coward for slapping a musician not a fighter. If you f***ing planned this to fight me and to use my name because people don’t remember your name anymore, then I congratulate you, it worked. I will fight you and I will knock you out and your f***ing face will be bloody.

Now, your f***ing face stays in my mind and I will f*** you up in the cage. I hope you won’t run away from me again.

The pair had been reportedly told to be on their best behaviour with MMAjunkie.com reporting a police report had been filed after the slap.

“Both teams were contacted prior to last night’s event and were asked by the UFC to be respectful and to not have any confrontations,” Jung’s manager Jason House told MMAjunkie. “Our team respected the UFC’s request and maintained our professionalism throughout the night. Police reports were filed immediately after the incident occurred and now it’s a matter for law enforcement officials to handle.

“Korean Zombie has always been a class act and will continue to be. Our objective remains the same; to put ourselves in the best position both inside and outside the cage to become the featherweight champion this year.”

Ortega being led out of the venue.Source:Twitter

Ortega and Jung were meant to fight in UFC Busan in December but Ortega withdrew due to a knee injury.

Ortega has a 14-1 record in the UFC, but lost his last bout to Max Holloway for the UFC Featherweight belt in December 2018, but is still seen as the second ranked contender behind Holloway for Aussie Alexander Volkanovski’s belt.

Jung is currently 16-5 but seen as one of the contenders for the featherweight division after two straight first-round knockouts in a row.

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