Thank You, Zombie

As an encore, Jung knocked out Mark Hominick in seven seconds at UFC 140.

Hominick was fresh off going five rounds with Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 129 in Toronto — a magical night for the London, Ontario native who rallied in the fifth despite sporting a gigantic hematoma on his forehead to send the crowd into hysterics to punctuate a career-defining moment.

They touched gloves, Hominick reached with a left hook, and Jung dropped him with a straight right behind it, swarming and pounding out the finish.

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As an encore to the encore, he choked out Dustin Poirier, putting “The Diamond” to sleep with a D’arce choke in the fourth round of their main event engagement in Fairfax, Virginia.

Poirier was in the midst of an excellent run to begin his UFC career, having burst on the scene by upsetting then No. 1 contender Josh Grispi at UFC 125 before rattling off three more victories behind it to establish himself as a rising star in the 145-pound weight class. They ran fairly level throughout the contest, each man having their moments, but then an uppercut pushed him back to the fence and sent Zombie airborne with a flying knee, and when the stunned Poirier looked to shoot for a takedown to stem the tide, the South Korean standout wrapped up the choke and quickly put him to sleep.

Watching him struggle against Alexander Volkanovski and admit that he needed to do some soul searching following the lopsided defeat showed you a man questioning his place in the sport he undoubtedly loves, and whether he could or should continue to compete.

You fell in love with the cartoon Zombie caricature that adorned his early merch and grew into the logo that now decorates the walls of his gym.

And then there is the walkout.

“Zombie” is a haunting song by The Cranberries that speaks about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and one that is instantly recognizable from the opening beat and utterly captivating —the gentle strum of an electric guitar interrupted by crashing cymbals, quickly shifting to crunchier, heavier riffs; the power of the late Dolores O’Riordan’s vocals, weaving from soft and almost soothing into a repeated, raspy shout of the singles title undeniably impactful.

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It’s a melancholy sing-a-long that works brilliantly as a charged, thudding march into combat, and while several Irish athletes have used it to even greater effect over the years, competing at home and abroad with an added tinge of meaning and understanding stitched into it familiar sound, it was and always will be synonymous with the beloved South Korean standout that gave everything of himself each and every time he crossed the threshold into the cage.

I was speaking with UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev earlier today for a story that will run closer to his return bout against Mateusz Gamrot late next month, and when I asked him about getting to face yet another established, dangerous foe after most recently sharing the Octagon with Justin Gaethje, his response went in an unexpected direction that actually illustrates the impact and legacy Zombie built for himself throughout the years better than anything I could write.

“He’s never been a champion, but how many years in a top position? Look how fans love him, how fans (say goodbye to him). It’s all because he stayed a long time at the top, he showed really, really good fights, and his heart — he showed everybody he deserved it.”

We saw how much this sport, this career meant to him when he bid his career in the Octagon a teary-eyed goodbye on Saturday before sharing powerful, emotional embraces with his coach, Eddie Cha, and his wife.

All I hope is that he knows how much his presence and everything he gave over the years meant to us.

Thank you, Zombie.