HOUSTON — After a 3 1/2-year absence from the UFC, Chan Sun Jung looked like he never left.
The South Korean featherweight, who left the UFC in 2014 to serve his two-year mandatory military service in his home country, knocked out Dennis Bermudez in the first round at UFC Fight Night 104 Saturday night.
Jung delivered a right uppercut that knocked Bermudez to the ground before delivering multiple right hands that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at 2:49 of the first round.
“I actually was expecting and planning for a five-round decision,” Jung said. “But I thought if I can catch the knockout or submission, then even better.”
Bermudez delivered the most effective blows early in the first round, stunning Jung temporarily. Two minutes into the fight, he thought he was in control.
“Everything was going my way, I felt,” Bermudez said.
Jung is 4-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming to featherweight champion Jose Aldo in his last fight before his spell in the military on Aug. 3, 2013. Overall, Jung is 14-4 as a professional.
Bermudez was ranked ninth in the featherweight division, and this victory makes Jung feel his goal of featherweight gold is once again in his sights.
“My goal is always to be the champion, and I think this fight has put me back in the game,” Jung said.
