For those who have not followed his career, it may be difficult to understand the excitement among hardcore fans for the return of the #KoreanZombie," Chan Sung Jung, who has not competed since 2013 as a result of performing mandatory military service in his homeland of South Korea.
The ultra-durable zombie is an aggressive finisher, nicknamed aptly for his constant forward onslaught, and all three of his UFC wins came by way of stoppage. The most recent of these victories, a submission win over #DustinPoirier, was one of the most popular picks for 2012s "Fight of the Year." In a career full of exciting moments, the ones which best represent Jung as a fighter may come in the form of his duo of bouts with WEC veteran #LeonardGarcia.
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At WEC 48, Garcia and Jung fought for the first time. For three rounds, the two stood in front of each other and threw looping, powerful hooks, the two sporting virtually unbreakable chins as they willingly ate haymakers again, and again, and again. The fight is considered one of the most visceral all-out brawls in the sports history, and was a near-consensus pick for "Fight of the Year," with commentator #JoeRogan calling it the fight of the decade.
After three rounds, it appeared that Jung had done enough, but the judges felt differently, awarding a split decision to Garcia. The WEC brand would merge with the UFC by the end of the year, and the two would face each other once more, less than a year later, at UFC Fight Night 24. On this night, their rivalry was settled in a much less competitive affair.
After a clear first round for the South Korean, Jung ended up taking Garcias back. With moments left in the round, Jung wrapped both of his legs around Garcias left leg, the one closest to the mat. As he did this, he fought for control of Garcias right arm, the one furthest from the mat, before placing it behind his own body and wrenching on Garcias head, forcing his spine in opposing directions. Joe Rogan immediately identified it as a #twister, a technique pioneered in submission grappling by #EddieBravo, though sometimes seen in amateur wrestling under the moniker of "the guillotine.
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The technique looked incredibly visceral, with Garcia's back seeming to contort at the spine in a horrible counter-rotation of the body. He quickly submitted, and the first twister in UFC history had been successfully executed.
The technique is common in Bravos 10th Planet system, a derivation of Brazilian jiu jitsu which focuses on no-gi submission grappling and effective guard work against an opponent willing to strike from the top position. BJJ is a prideful art, and attempts to add new techniques were seen by some in the community as an afront to jiu jitsu.
Regardless, some of the more inventive and unorthodox members of the community embraced Bravo's techniques, and few are as inventive or unorthodox as #ShinyaAoki.
The decorated lightweight successfully submitted Yuki Yamamoto with a twister on an Antonio Inoki New Year's Eve show in 2014. Aoki has trained repeatedly with Bravo, and has also successfully executed the #gogoplata, another favorite technique of the 10th Planet mastermind.
Though Jung would be the first to pull it off on a big stage, female pioneer Shayna Baszler had successfully executed the technique a year prior in 2010, against Megumi Yabushita. After Jung's own, the next most notable use of the maneuver may come once again from WMMA.
In 2015, phenom prospect #AngelaLee pulled off the first successful twister in ONE Championship history, one of the moments which would establish Lee as a future superstar for the ONE brand.
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Any unorthodox technique which finds success on martial arts' world stage should be celebrated, lest we fall into a state of homogeneity. Though the celebration of the Zombie's return may rightly overwhelm any celebrations of the technique he brought to our collective attention, we must recognize that his identity as a fighter, and his deep commitment to his craft, are what legitimized the twister, and established its name in our lexicons, even years later. For that, and for so much more, Chan Sung Jung will never be forgotten.
Read our Korean Zombie-inspired Champions Fanzine:
42 Months Later: The Korean Zombie Undead
