Despite coming up short in his last fight against Brian Ortega, ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung has identified the path he must take if he is to realise his ambition of securing another world title fight.

‘Zombie’ came up short against Jose Aldo seven years ago in what was his first and only world title fight in the UFC to date but in spite of the setback against Ortega, recent wins against Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano mean that he is still very much in the title picture at 145-pounds — and he says he can climb a few more rungs up the ladder if he topples the dangerous Russian striker Zabit Magomedsharipov.

The flashy Zabit in undefeated in six UFC fights to date and clearly has title ambitions of his own, but Jung says that one of them can further their ambitions in what would be a high stakes featherweight contest.

“I want Zabit (Magomedsharipov),” Jung said via MMA Junkie. “That’s the fight that’s going to get me closest to a title shot. More than that, I want to once again try to prove myself against one of the hottest fighters in the division and prove that I’m still capable of competing at the highest level. Of course, I would understand if he doesn’t want to fight me.

“This is a fight that would bring the fans to their feet,” Jung added. “(He) and I are both entertainers and extremely competitive, so I think he’d like to step in the octagon with me. A win for both of us would mean a lot for our careers, and it would be an amazing match. The ball is in Zabit’s court; I want this fight to kick off 2021.”

And hey, who are we to argue?