UFC Greenville Fighter Evokes The Walking Dead When Promising to Bury “The Korean Zombie”

Mixed martial artist Renato Moicano turned to The Walking Dead for inspiration ahead of his fight Saturday against Chan Sung Jung, a.k.a. "The Korean Zombie," at UFC Greenville.

A poster shared to Moicano's Instagram account emulates The Walking Dead, showing the Brazilian fighter punching a zombie with the declaration "hunting season is open" on the undead.

"We're gonna throw the 'Zombie' in a grave. He'll have no place to run. You beat a zombie by burying him six-feet under so he never gets back up again," Moicano told MMA Fighting.

"I was watching a very funny TV series recently, Ash vs. Evil Dead, and I also like watching The Walking Dead. It's cool — and gives me extra motivation [laughs]."

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Don't miss June 22 we are going to war. Tag a friend who likes horror movies!!! Say what you think about this art made by @ygormorato... 🇺🇸👊 - Não perca dia 22 de junho, vamos a guerra. Marque um amigo que gosta de filme de terror!!! Diz aí o que achou dessa arte feita pelo grande @ygormorato... 🇧🇷👊 - @ufc @danawhite @seanshelby #teammoicano #renatomoicano #mma #mmafight #mmaworld #mmafighter #mmalifestyle #mmalife #mmatraining #ufc #ufcbrasil #ufcfightnight #boxing #muaythai #judo #wrestling #jiujitsu #bjj #moicanovsjung #bjjlifestyle #bjjathlete #canalcombate #americantopteam

A post shared by Renato Moicano - UFC (@renato_moicano_ufc) on May 7, 2019 at 7:38am PDT

Moicano's zombie-hunting campaign isn't intended to be a shot at the former featherweight title contender, but is instead part of the game of "entertainment."

"We have to remember that this is also entertaining, that's what people want to see," Moicano said. "They want to see me talking about zombies — without being disrespectful, because, to me, martial arts are sacred. To me, martial arts is food for the soul and you have to respect that. If you remove the martial arts aspect of this, it's just two idiots beating each other up."

He added, "I'll always be respectful, but add a bit of entertaining to it as well. Win the world without losing your soul. You can't talk sh-t and not be able to look yourself in the mirror in the end. Play the game, but cause no harm."

Both fighters have lost to Jose Aldo, who gave Moicano his first career knockout loss at UFC Fortaleza. Though Moicano hoped to combat a higher ranked fighter in the featherweight division, he promises this Fight Night will be "war."

"He's always putting on a show in his fights and is very popular, so I think it was an appropriate fight for me. I'd rather fight someone ranked higher, but this matchup interested the UFC and myself, too. I consider Zombie one of the best," he said.

"I see this fight going many different ways, on the feet and on the ground, and I intend on put on a show and brawl with him in there. I'll be ready to counter everything he does. It's gonna be a war."

The Walking Dead returns to AMC with its tenth season in October.