UFC Fight Night 104's Chan Sung Jung: 'I think this fight has put me back in the game'

HOUSTON – Onetime UFC featherweight title challenger Chan Sung Jung fought back tears when he thought about his journey back to the octagon after four years off.

Jung, whose military service in his native South Korea took him away from active competition, admitted he wondered whether he would bounce back after so long away from the game.

“I’m human too, so there were times when I thought, can I keep up with the game, can I keep developing my techniques? Now, I feel like I’m about to cry,” Jung (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) told MMAjunkie through a translator after his stunning first-round knockout of Dennis Bermudez (16-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in the FS1-televised headliner of UFC Fight Night 104 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Jung obviously kept up quite well after his extended layoff, though he didn’t expect things to go as well as they did against Bermudez. He said he expected to spend a lot of his time fighting off his opponent’s wrestling, and he thought the fight would go longer.

“I’ve changed the way I think about the game of fighting, so I was actually expecting and planning for a five-round decision,” Jung said. “But I thought if I can catch the knockout or submission, even better.”

After getting stung by several shots from Bermudez, he landed an uppercut that sent “The Ultimate Fighter 14” veteran to the canvas in the first round. It was Jung’s first win since a failed bid for the featherweight belt against champ Jose Aldo in 2013.

“It feels really, really good, and I want to thank all the people that stood by me during that time off,” Jung said.

Now, the question is what comes next for the 29-year-old South Korean. With a win over the No. 12 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, and Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) back at the top of the division after the promotion stripped Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), Jung is well positioned to get another crack at the belt.

At this point, he isn’t calling out anyone out. But that might change soon.

“My goal is always to be the champion, and I think this fight has put me back in the game,” Jung said.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 104, check out the UFC Events section of the site.