Korean rapper Jay Park is still deliberating whether he’s going to move forward with pressing charges against [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] after accusing the featherweight contender of slapping him at UFC 248.
According to Park, finding out the motivation behind Ortega’s behavior will determine how he ultimately handles the situation, but the multi-platinum recording artist confirmed an MMA Junkie report from Sunday that a police report has been filed.
Ortega’s beef appears to have stemmed from Park helping translate an interview with Chan Sung Jung, who Ortega was supposed to fight in December before withdrawing due to injury. Ortega said he was going to slap Park if they ever met in person, and according to the police report and eyewitnesses, that’s what happened during Saturday’s event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Park was cageside with Jung watching the card, but when “The Korean Zombie” got up to use the bathroom, Park said Ortega approached and struck him with an open hand.
“I don’t know what he was tripping about,” Park told ESPN on Monday. “He was just mad for no reason, but I didn’t pay no mind. I was cool. I was just chilling. I was jet lagged just spacing out (after flying from South Korea), and then when ‘Zombie’ went to the bathroom all of a sudden I see someone pull up all of a sudden, and he’s like, ‘Hey, dog, are you Jay Park?’ And it just kind of caught me by surprise, and I was like, ‘Yeah?’ As I stood up, he smacked me. As I was standing up he smacked me. It was very narrow. There was chairs behind me so I kind of fell back, then I got up, and I pushed him. Whatever, there was a little scuffle or whatever, and people broke it up.”
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On Monday, TMZ obtained and released video of the incident, which didn’t show a slap but did include Ortega yelling “I told you I’d slap you like a b*tch” as he was being restrained. Although Ortega had previously made a threat on social media, Park said he never took it seriously, because he’s not a fighter, nor did he feel he was out of bounds translating for “The Korean Zombie” during interviews.
“It was just weird,” Park said. “It was just a weird, awkward – I don’t know why he’s mad at me. He’s supposed to be fighting ‘Zombie.’ It was just weird. It was a weird situation. To be honest, to be completely honest, my jaw is a little stiff. Nothing too serious. I don’t know. It’s just weird. He’s like the No. 2 guy in the world, a UFC professional fighter. What is he doing coming and attacking me? I could understand if I was talking (expletive), if I was egging him on or whatever, but I was a fan of the dude. I was following him on Instagram. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It was just a really bad representation of himself. It was not a good look for him.
“I don’t feel like I did anything wrong. I just translated. I’ve never put words in ‘Zombie’s’ mouth. I’ve never put up a caption for him, I’ve never told him to trash talk. I have a lot of respect for fighters. They put everything on the line, they train hard, they put their bodies on the line, and fight for their families and stuff like that.”
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Park said he originally intended to simply move on, but after speaking with Jung’s representation, decided they “can’t let him get away with this.” Park said he spoke to Las Vegas police and provided a statement on what happened.
However, Park said the decision now falls on him to proceed or not. He can press charges but said he’s undecided on whether that will happen. He said the decision will ultimately come down to seeing how Ortega reacts moving forward.
“If it was just for attention – it’s good,” Park said. “To be honest, cool. I’ll take it on the chin for ‘Zombie.’ If it builds up the fight, cool. But if was about the translation, I don’t know. He needs to reassess his life. That’s not it.”
Regardless of what happens in the future, Park said he’s not stressing or allowing the situation to consume his life. He has plenty of obligations to focus on, but reiterated it was a confusing and unexpected trip to Las Vegas for UFC 248.
“I felt I literally did nothing wrong,” Park said. “I didn’t know he was going to try and actually cause physical harm to me. I’m a singer, bro. I weigh 143 pounds. I’m like 40 pounds lighter than you. He’s the No. 2 UFC dude in the world. It doesn’t make you look tough. It was just weird. It was very, very weird.”
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