JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Staredowns weren’t supposed to happen at the UFC 273 press conference, but UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski wanted one anyway with The Korean Zombie.
After exchanging respectful words with his opponent, Volkanovski said to the crowd, “supposedly, we’re not allowed to do any faceoffs, or something. Let’s not deny the crowd their wishes – I would like to faceoff Zombie, if that .”
is possible.
“That is fine,” said UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik, who was filling in for UFC President Dana White on Thursday at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, which hosted the gathering.
Anik said White – the usual muscle between fighters for staredowns at UFC events – was traveling and unable to make the press conference. Anik had little to do due to the absence of any bad blood between Volkanovski, The Korean Zombie (also known as Chan Sung Jung), and Anik. Volkanovski turned to the crowd and ripped off his shirt with a yell. Security officials intervened when Aljamain Sterling, a heated rival, and Petr Yan attempted to faceoff.
Volkanovski attempts the third defense of his UFC featherweight title. He was originally scheduled to meet Max Holloway, ex-champ before Holloway suffered an injury that forced him to pull out. Volkanovski decided to take on Jung after a series of callouts. Jung is 10 months away from winning the Dan Ige decision. Jung is the No. 7 ranked featherweight on the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Volkanovski is No. 1.
