Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung named 'No. 1 contender fight' for UFC featherweight title

Wednesday was an interesting and massive day for UFC news. 

On the same day that UFC boss Dana White unveiled that former two-division champion Conor McGregor (22-4-0) can fight Dustin Poirier (26-6-0) on Jan. 23, 2021, or not at all, White also explained that Saturday's main-event featherweight bout between Brian Ortega (14-1-0) and Chan Sung Jung (16-5-0) will be for more than prize money and bragging rights.

"It's absolutely a No. 1 contender fight," White said, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN. 

"First of all, this fight should have happened a long time ago. We're finally here. All the crazy stuff that's happened. Crazy stuff always happens in this sport. Zombie [Jung] vs. Ortega. Absolutely, the winner of this fight should be the next title shot."

Alexander Volkanovski (22-1-0) won the title from Max Holloway in Dec. 2019 and then successfully defended the belt in a rematch at UFC 251 in July. A majority of media members polled by MMA Decisions scored that contest in favor of Holloway. 

Ortega hasn't competed in the Octagon since he came up short in his pursuit of the title against then-champion Holloway in December 2018 and suffered the first defeat of his pro career. Ortega was supposed to fight Jung, affectionately known as "The Korean Zombie," last December but withdrew from the showdown due to a knee injury. 

Jung stopped Frankie Edgar, who replaced Ortega, in the first round of the December bout but hasn't competed since that win. He's notched victories in three of his last four contests.