‘Korean Zombie’ Reveals Various Methods Used To Cheat At Weigh-Ins
Chan Sung Jung AKA ‘The Korean Zombie’ has revealed several popular methods used to cheat the weigh-in system.
The 33-year-old is currently sidelined after opting to undergo eye surgery to fix a nagging injury. Prior to his hiatus Jung picked up successive knockout wins over featherweight contenders Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar to cement his status as one of the best in the division.
During his recovery Jung, with some help has given fight fans an interesting look into the way fighters can cheat during pre-fight weigh-ins. He speaks first about two common tricks. The towel cheat and the elbow cheat, he says.
“I’m not sure if I’m able to talk about this, but this is probably one of the biggest weigh-in scamming methods that the fighters have used,” Jung explained. “Once a fighter gets up on the scale to weigh-in, the fighter’s second will stand right next to them to check and see if they have met the required weight. If the fighter hasn’t, with one finger, they will slightly lift the fighter’s bottom.
“This is one of the most interesting methods I have seen,” Jung continues. “I’m not even applying pressure, but just slightly using my finger to lift Seung Min up. I’m literally doing nothing, just slightly touching him.”
“It takes off about a pound,” Seung Min responds.
“Let’s say the required weight was 143 (pounds), and with the underwear off, the fighter weighed in at 142, I would go ahead and suspect that something is off if you find the fighter’s second standing behind them. Dropping to 142 from 143 all because a fighter removed a piece of clothing is very rare. The underwear does not weigh one full pound.”
“I’ve witnessed this a lot,” he said. “I am just sharing this in hopes of preventing it from ever happening again. During a weigh-in, if you spot their second standing behind them, they both need to be seriously penalized.”
‘Korean Zombie’ recognises he may face some backlash for revealing these trade secrets, but he doesn’t care. The 145lb contender simply wants to make the sport as fair as it can possibly be, he explained.
“I’m sharing these because I want the MMA industry to be a better place. Stopping the fighters from tricking the system might be a place to begin.”
“If our fans are aware of what the fighters are doing, maybe it’ll somehow stop them from doing it. Cutting weight is harder than the actual fight. If you’re not committed to cutting your weight and you end up cheating at the weigh-in, you’re being unfair to the person who made the cut the honest way.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
Will you more aware of weigh-in cheating after Korean Zombie has revealed these trade secrets?
