'Korean Zombie' replaces Anthony Pettis, meets champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163

A knee injury has forced Anthony Pettis (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) out of August’s UFC 163 main event, and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has stepped in as an injury replacement and will now fight UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (22-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) for the title.

UFC President Dana White today announced the news.

UFC 163 takes place Aug. 3 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Jung initially was slated to fight fellow contender Ricardo Lamas at UFC 162 next month, but the bout has been scratched. Lamas said he had no comment when contacted today by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

According to Pettis on Twitter: “Injuries are part of the sport. Small tear in my meniscus. I was so ready for this fight, this won’t stop me!back soon.”

Aldo is riding a 15-fight win streak that includes eight straight WEC/UFC title defenses. He’s looked downright dominant as he’s breezed through one notable challenger after another. His UFC title defenses have come over the likes of Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar.

Jung, a former WEC contender, is undefeated since his move over to the UFC. The Korean fighter has topped Leonard Garcia, Hominick and Dustin Poirier under the UFC banner. The bout with Poirier, which earned “Fight of the Year” awards, came in May 2012 and marks his most recent appearance due to injuries.

Aldo is ranked No. 1 and Jung is No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA featherweight rankings. Lamas is actually three spots ahead of Jung at No. 3.

The full UFC 163 card includes:

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
• Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
• Josh Koscheck vs. Demian Maia
• Cezar Ferreira vs. Clint Hester
• Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
• Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes
• Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
• Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
• Josh Clopton vs. Rani Yahya
• Robert Drysdale vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
• Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos
• John Lineker vs. Phil Harris
• Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde

For more on UFC 163, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Chan Sung Jung)