Chan Sung Jung Bio: Early Life, Career, Awards & Net Worth

When one thinks of MMA fighting and the fighters, we heavily picture a builder person with a muscular body (which is a hulk?).

Anyways, let’s get it real here and not lead to a slightly unreasonable way. And here’s to why is it! Chan Sung Jung is a South Korean professional MMA fighter who is aloof with his small thin, yet strongly packed body.

In fact, he is not the fastest of the guy you see, or strongest or even tallest. Sung Jung is literally not going to put all the eggshells in a basket as he is so well rounded and hard to predict.

Therefore, people have perfectly named him “The Korean Zombie” for his deadly avatar during fights, who would go on like a haunt of the continuous aggressive fight.

The zombie-like fighter has featured in matches such as the WEC, Pancrase, World Victory Road, and DEEP. At present, Sung Jung is competing in the Featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

“I think a lot of people underestimate me as a fighter, so that leads to people wanting to challenge me because maybe they think it will be an easy win. I’m out to prove them wrong. “

-Chan Sung Jung

Quick Facts

Chang Sung Jung | Body Measurements, Workout & Diet

Sung Jung is a medium-height man standing at 5 ft 9.5 in (1.77 m) while weighing 145 lb (66 kg).

Likewise, the fighter works out every day and eats healthily. He includes a lot of protein and nutrient-rich foods in his diet.

However, after his devastating loss against Brian Ortega, he gained 20 kgs due to excessive eating. Moreover, he thought his career was over and the loss took a toll on his mental health. 

Nevertheless, the Korean Zombie got back on his feet and started his process towards healing by talking to a psychiatrist. Thereafter, he continued his training again and looked very much in shape in his recent fight against Dan Ige. 

Additionally, he is a thin, fair-skinned guy with short black hair with his eyes the same color as his hair. Furthermore, he has an oval face with chinky eyes and a wide smile.

Chan Sung Jung | Early Life

Sung Jung was born under Pisces’ star sign on March 17, 1987, in Pohang, South Korea. Not to mention, he had quite a depressing childhood; thus, he grew up shy and lonely.

As I take you to his birthday, his hometown is a port known for its steelyards and shipbuilding, and he had no single siblings.

Advancing further, his parents were always busy working; hence, he was deprived of their attention.

What’s more saddening is that he grew up with others’ families until the age of seven, and he didn’t quite get to have quality time with his own that he thought they (the family he grew with) were his parents.

His father used to work producing steel in an industry which was majorly a job of lifting stuff out of a hot oven as he wasn’t a particularly strong kind of guy.

In the meantime, his mother used to work in a clothing store she owns in a city called Daegu; hence, they were living separately.

While all these things seem really depressing for us, it’s quite common in Korea as they prioritize jobs the most.

Later, at the age of eight, he went back to live with his family, and he was always that shy, loner kid with no self-confidence hereby, it’s no surprise why he never had many friends throughout middle school.

Altogether pursuing studies in Nam Yam Ju was hard. He was from a different region and was introverted, which made him an outcast, and he was often bullied in school.

Martial Arts (Commencement)

Overall, seeing him in that condition spurred his aunt, and thus, she admitted him into athletics and martial arts.

At the age of fourteen (early teenage), his aunt forced him into Hapkido classes and gyms, which appeared quite boring to him at the beginning.

However, as time flew by, he got used to it, getting together his social skills, and started learning kickboxing, which came to be the pivotal point of his life to take him where he is now.

Afterward, he graduated from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and commenced his training in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

When he reached his late teen (age of 18), he started doing taekwondo and joined the South Korean Navy. In 2007, he had his first-ever victory as he bagged a sambo tournament arranged by the Korean Sambo Association.

Following it, he won tournaments in the Lightweight division of the Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Tournament, surpassing Yoo In Seok and Lee Hyung Geol.

Right after it, in 2008, he made his professional debut in mixed martial arts claiming the whole KOREA-FC’s 8-man MMA tournament in the 65 kg division. Who would have ever thought such a shy kid would have to make a way through, right?

Anyways, as the streak continued, he also starred in the 2007 Korean television cable show named Street Fighter. He managed to win the show in the 70 kg weight category tournament, which was only stand-up and not a ring-like fight.

Chan Sung Jung | Mixed Martial Arts Career

As we discussed earlier, Sng Jung’s foremost MMA professional debut came in 2007, when he bagged the Lightweight Tournament arranged by Pancrase Korea in December.

Following it, as he claimed the Korean FC in 2008, he also managed to win both his fights for Japanese promotion DEEP.

To illustrate, his two fights for the DEEP include one with Michihiro Omigawa on August 16, 2008, a victory through a unanimous decision.

In contrast, his other win was against Fanjin Son at DEEP: 39 Impact, which resulted in a knockout at just 17 seconds.

Sengoku

Sung Jung entered the Sengoku during its Featherweight Grand-Prix in 2009 as he debuted against Shintaro Ishiwatari in his first-round fight at Sengoku 7.

Right then, he bagged the victory with his right-hand blow followed by his rear-naked choke submission as Shintaro gave up at 4:29 of the first round.

With the first round ending as a victory, he advanced to the second-round fight at Sengoku 8 on May 2, 2009. Unfortunately, he was eliminated by the eventual winner Masanori Kanehara via a unanimous decision.

The very game bought out much dissatisfaction among fans due to Sengoku’s biased history against the Koreans.

Even so, let’s leave it here and advance to the next game from June 7, 2009, as he was matched against American Matt Jaggers at Sengoku 9 in a reserve bout for the tournament.

At the same moment, the winner was to step up in a replacement; however, Sung Jung was not given priority, although he won the match with triangle choke submission at 1:25 of the second round.

World Extreme Cagefighting

On April 24, 2010, Sung Jung made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut after signing with them.

His debut match was against Leonard Garcia (replacement for injured Cub Swanson) at WEC 48. However, he lost the match by split decision, which roared controversies questioning the fight judgers’ decision.

By the end of the controversy, he was given the Fight of the Night honors, declaring it to be the Fight of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Herewith, he moved towards the next match against George Roop on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51, which too came through as a loss via knockout in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

1. January 22, 2011 (UFC Fight Night 23): Backed out due to an injury against Rani Yahya
2. March 26, 2011 (UFC Fight Night 24): Replacement of the injured Nam Phan against Garcia, won by a twister in the final second of the second round.
3. December 10, 2011 (UFC 140): Victory over Mark Hominick via KO at seven seconds of the first round
4. May 15, 2012 (UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier): Won against Dustin Poirier via submission in the fourth round
5. July 6, 2013 (UFC 162): Was to face Ricardo Lamas but pulled out.
6.  August 3, 2013 (UFC 163): Replaced the injured Anthony Pettis against José Aldo, lost in the fourth round via TKO as Jung suffered a dislocated shoulder.
7. October 4, 2014 (UFC Fight Night 53): Match against Akira Corassani but pulled out due to injury hence, replaced by Max Holloway.

As he advanced in mid-October, Chan Sung Jung stated he needed to return to his native land for mandatory military service and would be back for the fight in two years as per his manager.

Before moving on to his remaining journey, let me grab the chance to showcase his achievements till October 2014.

•  first Submission of the Night honors and Submission of the Year by the World MMA Awards (2011)
• Knockout of the Night honors (2011)
• Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night honors (2012)

Post Military

As he served in the military in full-fledged, in mid-2016, he attended Rener Gracie’s inaugural Korean Super Seminar in Seoul.

1.  February 4, 2017(UFC Fight Night 104): Faced Dennis Bermudez won through knockout in the first round
2. July 29, 2017 (UFC 214): Expected to face Ricardo Lamas but pulled out due to a knee injury, and thus, Jason Knight replaced him
3. November 10, 2018 (UFC Fight Night 139): Match against Frankie Edgar, but Yair Rodríguez replaced him due to his injury. However, Sung Jung lost the match due to a knockout in the final second of the fifth round.
4. June 22, 2019 (UFC on ESPN+ 12): faced Renato Moicano and claimed the victory via technical knockout in 58 seconds of the first round.
5. December 21, 2019 (UFC on ESPN+ 23): Match against Brian Ortega; however, Brian pulled out due to his knee injury, and hence, Frankie Edgar came up as a replacement. Bagged the win by Jung via TKO in the first round.
6. October 18, 2020 (UFC Fight Night 180): Fight against Brian Ortega was rescheduled but lost through a unanimous decision.

By the end of this match, Chan Sung Jung had collected the following achievements.

• Performance of the Night bonus award (2017)
• Fight of the Night honors (2018)
• Performance of the Night award (2019)
• Performance of the Night bonus award (2019)

Chan Sung Jung | Fighting Style

Sung Jung is known for his aggressive, violent fighting; hence he was named “The Korean Zombie” for his deadly fights. Unlike other players, who play wild and crazy, Sung Jung is a rare player to keep the fight who expresses themselves with their moves.

All in all, if you search for aggressive, deadly matches, he is the one you have been looking for as he knows only to move forward to take the opponent’s soul no matter how his condition is.

Not to leave out, he is a master of Taekwondo, Hapkido, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Overall, he has also set the record to win a fight with a twister submission, which is the first-ever in UFC history.

Michael Bisping on the broadcast team had stated, “We call him the Zombie, but don’t get it wrong, he has tremendous technique.

It’s the fact that it’s the technique combined with the desire to finish every fight. Through the years, he’s become very tactical, and he still believes he can be a champion one day.”

Chan Sung Jung | Highlights and Accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

• • Submission of the Night (Two times)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Fight of the Night (Two times) 
  • Performance of the Night (Three times) 
  • Most fight-night bonuses in the UFC Featherweight division history

World Extreme Cagefighting

• • Fight of the Night (One time)

KoreaFC

• • Korea FC 65 kg Tournament (Winner)

Pancrase

• • Pancrase Korea Neo-Blood Lightweight Tournament (Winner)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• • 2010 Fight of the Year 
  • 2012 Fight of the Year (by MMAFighting.com, ESPN MMA Awards, and Bleacher Report)

World MMA Awards

• • 2011 Submission of the Year

Sherdog

• • 2011 All-Violence First Team

Chan Sung Jung | MMA Records & Stats

You can learn more about his stats and fights on Tapology.

Chan Sung Jung | Net Worth, Purse & Career Earnings

As of the year 2024, Chan Sung Jung is reported to have a net worth of $1 million.

So far, he has gained $1.5 million from the UFC fights alongside, and his career’s highest purse money is worth $200k. Besides that, his career earnings amount to $1,212,000.

Additionally, he was previously endorsed by the MMA clothing company and fighter sponsor Tri-Costa who manufactured his signature “Korean Zombie” t-shirt.

That very t-shirt took people by storm as even President Dana White, alongside longtime UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, was flaunting it.

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Chan Sung Jung | Love Life and Social Media

Sung Jung is a married man with two children. In 2014, he took vows with his longtime girlfriend Park Sun Young, and to date, the duo lives happily with their daughters, Jung Min Seo and Jung Eun Seo.

The couple is often posting their family time together on their social accounts.

Chan Sung Jung | FAQs

Does really Korean Zombie doesn’t blink?

The Korean Zombie (Chan Sung Jung) really doesn’t blink, and this skill is quite beneficial for him.

What are the predictions in Jung vs Ige?

According to expert predictions, many favor the Korean fighter to winning this match.

Who was Chan Sung Jung’s last fight?

The fighter’s last fight was against Dan Ige on June 19, 2021, which he won by a unanimous decision.

What is Chang Sung Jung’s ranking? 

Jung’s current ranking is #7 in the featherweight division while his highest ranking was #4.