Brian Ortega has released a statement confirming that he did slap ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung’s translator Jay Park in the stands at UFC 248 this past weekend, but has since deleted the post.
“On May 9, 2018, Jay Park signed Korean Zombie to a management contract under AOMG Entertainment, of which Park is the CEO, and soon after the trash talking began,” Ortega wrote on Twitter. “When I finally mae it to Korea for the press conference, KZ approached me with his translator (a real one, not Jay Park) and said, “I want to apologize for the trash talking, it was my management that wants to do it to promote the fight.” I accepted his apology, shook his hand and we had a great press conference. Soon after I tore my knee, and the fight was cancelled. Four weeks ago, KZ and JP went on Ariel’s show and said I dodged the fight. “Dodging” and “injury” are two separate things, and since I already knew JP was the one writing the script, that’s when I welcomed him to the fight game and warned him to watch his mouth.
On Saturday night, I slapped three people a [sic] the same time. I apologize for slapping the “translator,” and I apologize for slapping the “K-pop star,” but I don’t apologize for slapping the “instigator.”
Meanwhile, Park has spoken about the altercation on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show and questioned why Ortega felt the need to physically assault someone who isn’t even a fighter.
“He’s like the No. 2 guy in the world, a UFC professional fighter. What is he doing coming and attacking me?” Park said. “… I’m a singer, bro. I weigh 143 pounds. I’m like 40 pounds lighter than you. He’s the No. 2 UFC dude in the world. It doesn’t make you look tough.”