UFC 163 (August 3rd, 2013): Chan Sung Jung feels bad about getting title shot over Ricardo Lamas

Ricardo Lamas is probably not very happy right now. He was originally scheduled to face Chan Sung Jung in a surefire number one contender featherweight bout at UFC 162 on July 6th. But now, due to an Anthony Pettis injury, Lamas isn’t fighting at all and his opponent was granted the shot against Jose Aldo.

The Korean Zombie (13-3) was interviewed by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting recently, and he says that he feels bad about getting the spot over Lamas. But he’s not going to pass it up, because he’s very excited about it.

First off, he explained his reaction to finding out the news:

I was jumping around. I was so excited. At first, when my manager told me, I didn’t believe him. I thought he was playing a joke on me. I couldn’t fall asleep until I saw Dana White‘s tweet about the fight.

He thinks his time off (he’s been out since May 2012 after shoulder surgery) will help him more than hurt him, and says that he’s in fighting shape. Then the topic turned to Lamas and his missed opportunity:

I do feel bad about it. I honestly think he was next in line, due to my time off, but I was told I was getting the next title shot after the Poirier fight. While I do feel bad for him, I wouldn’t give this opportunity up for the world.

So how is he going to beat Aldo?

I think we all know that, objectively, his technique is impeccable. So, I think it comes down to the intangibles — the mental game. That’s where I have to beat him.

All I can say is that I can’t wait for August 3rd. I might be in the minority on this, but I like this bout way more than Aldo/Pettis and I’m ridiculously excited for it.

via UFC 163: Chan Sung Jung feels bad about getting title shot over Ricardo Lamas – Bloody Elbow.