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The answer to who Brian Ortega's replacement would be on December 21st turned out to be none other than The Answer himself. Frankie Edgar, who was set to make his Bantamweight debut against Cody Sandhagen in late January, has taken the fight on short notice after Ortega tore his ACL. He will be facing "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung to end the year.
This was supposed to be the main event of UFC's 25th Anniversary event in November last year but Edgar was forced to pull out, allowing Yair Rodriguez to replace him. Ortega was set to make a big return after over a year following his loss to Max Holloway for the Featherweight title. However, Ortega potentially tore his ACL and his doctors rightfully insisted that he pull out of the fight.
Ariel Helwani of ESPN revealed earlier that Edgar was the frontrunner to replace Ortega and he's done exactly that, postponing his Bantamweight debut for the time being. While UFC would hope that Edgar will be able to make it to Raleigh to face Cody Sandhagen, it seems to be an unrealistic expectation, especially given the ruthless nature of Korean Zombie's fighting style.
While it's undoubtedly disappointing that Ortega will be out for another 2-3 months, we have an equally exciting fight that we were once supposed to get but ultimately, didn't. This fight is going to be huge for Chan Sung Jung, who will very likely be next in line for a title shot if he beats the legend, Edgar.
The Answer is also coming off a defeat to Max Holloway for the Featherweight Championship and was about to start the journey as a Bantamweight, but that's been put off for the time being. It's going to be interesting to see how the fight plays out and who the favorite is going to be.
With that said, this is the best possible fight to end the UFC calendar year!
