The Ultimate Fighting Championship has found a worthy replacement for Brian Ortega, who was forced out of the UFC Busan headlining bout.
On Wednesday, multiple reports claimed the former featherweight title contender has pulled out of the said card against Chan Sung Jung after sustaining another injury.
The UFC’s final show of the year is set to go down on December 21 inside Sajik Arena in South Korea.
Ortega, who has been out of action for more than a year, is looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Max Holloway in their December 2018 title clash.
But his journey back to title contention took a major blow as he needs to sit out for one to three months to recover from a partial ACL tear.
“I tore my ACL in training and I won’t be fighting in Korea,” Ortega wrote in a recent Instagram post.
“Thankfully it was only a partial tear so I’m already rehabbing it and the plan is to be back to 100% in 1-3 months.”
Tough Choice
The American featherweight said he needed to make a tough choice after the injury.
Ortega said he considered to fight through injury as he did not want to disappoint fans but risking a full blown tear could be worse for his career.
“I didn’t want to let down the fans, the Zombie, and the UFC, so I strongly considered pushing through it and fighting anyways,” he continued.
“But according to the doctors, the risk of a full rupture in the fight was high and that would put me out for up to a year.”
“Sorry guys, I gotta take care of this right now, but I’ll make it all up to you in 2020 I promise.”
T-City currently holds a 6-1 win loss record in the UFC and ranks second in the official featherweight rankings.
Taking The Chance
Saving the day for the UFC, bantamweight-bound Frankie Edgar steps in as late replacement for Ortega, as per the announcement of UFC officials.
“Due to a knee injury, Brian Ortega has been forced to withdraw from his December 21 bout with “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung.”
“Stepping in for Ortega in the UFC Fight Night main event in Busan, South Korea, is former world champion Frankie Edgar.”
“Edgar is currently preparing for his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh on January, but wanted the opportunity to face Jung first.”
The fifth ranked featherweight is coming off a decision loss to Holloway at UFC 240, or his fourth straight title fight loss in seven years.
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Chan Sung Jung and Frankie Edgar)