Kim Soo-cheol (31-ROAD FC Wonju) defeated Akira Haraguchi (28-BRAVE GYM) to become the inaugural bantamweight champion of the ROAD FC Global Tournament.
ROAD FC hosted Gupne ROAD FC 066 at Chiak Gymnasium in Wonju on the 29th. The tournament crowned the winners of the Global Tournament Lightweight (-70kg) and Bantamweight (-63kg), which has been anchored since last June, starting with the quarterfinals.
In the bantamweight final of the Global Tournament, “Asia’s Strongest” Kim Soo-cheol defeated Akira in 4:25 of the second round to win the title. In the lightweight final of the Global Tournament, Russian fighter Artur Soloviev (29-MFP) defeated Nandin Erden (36-Timfinish, South China).
As the winners of the bantamweight and lightweight tournaments, Kim and Solovyev each took home $100 million and championship belts.
After the fight, Kim said, “I’m sorry for not moving well. I love my family, I love my team,” he said, adding, “If my wife lets me, I’ll work out (from tomorrow), otherwise, I can’t help it.” He cried when he saw his wife and child on top of the cage.
“I want to thank my family, my teammates for not leaving me, and my trainers for being here,” said Soloviev, who was crowned the Road FC Global Tournament lightweight champion. “The guys I fought said they were going to beat me, but I didn’t even go to the second round, I finished them in one. I’m grateful to the people who were with me.”
A defeated Nandinjerden said: “It hurts. I thought (this opponent) was the worst player, but I don’t know why, I thought I would win easily,” he said, adding, “I will go to the next tournament and show it.”
▲ -63kg Bantamweight Tournament Final Kim Soo-cheol (Road FC Wonju) vs Haraguchi Akira (BRAVE GYM)
Kim Soo-chul started the first round with strong pressure. Akira went straight for a takedown, but Kim secured a choke grip and held his opponent down.
Akira’s ground skills were also on full display. After breaking Kim’s choke grip, Akira once again took the fight to the ground. Eventually, he scooped Kim up and took him to the ground. On the bottom of the cage, Kim actively looked for submissions, and the ground fight never seemed to end. Akira continued to pound away at Kim’s body.
Early in the second round, Kim set the tone with kicks and punches. Akira once again grabbed Kim’s leg and stretched it out, but Kim took top position with just over three minutes left. The two continued to grapple on the ground before switching to standing and trading punches several times. With a minute and a half left, Kim’s knee connected with Akira’s abdomen. Akira went down, and Kim unleashed a barrage of ground and pound, but was unable to finish the fight.
In the ensuing flurry of punches, the fists momentarily crossed, and Akira fell helplessly to the ground. The “Strongest Man in Asia” proved his mettle once again as he became the winner of the Road FC Bantamweight Tournament.
70kg Lightweight Tournament Final Nandin Erden (Namyangju Team Finish) vs Artur Soloviev (MFP)
Mongolian fighter Nandin Erden (Kim In-sung), a naturalized Korean citizen, drew cheers from the crowd as he arrived with the Korean and Mongolian flags on his shoulders.
Soloviev set the tone early on with a calf kick and body kick. Nandinjerden responded with a powerful body kick of his own. A momentary Solovyev back hand wobbled Nandinjerden, but it didn’t do much damage. A brawl broke out in the corner of the cage midway through the round. Nandinjerden had some fun, but in the ensuing clash in the center of the cage, he was caught by Solovyev’s back hand and went down.
The tense contest ended at 1:32 of the first round with Solovyev’s “one shot. Nandinjerden improved to 17-9 in his MMA career, while Soloviev improved to 11-6.
▲-63kg Bantamweight Yang Ji-yong (Jeju Team The King) vs Takahashi Gento (BRAVE GYM)
This is a battle between two of the top MMA lightweight prospects from Korea and Japan. The two stepped to the center of the cage. Ji-Yong Yang struck first with a calf kick. Gento’s quick one-two failed to find the inside of Yang’s head. After a prolonged search, the referee stopped the match and called for caution.
Yang Jiyong broke the silence with a few punches. But Gento kept circling the cage, looking for the ‘one shot’. After allowing Yang to land a high kick, Gento attempted a takedown, but was unable to take him down. Despite a subsequent takedown attempt, Yang ended the first round with top position.
The second round followed a similar pattern. Gento momentarily missed a takedown and fell to the ground, which is when Yang entered the ground fight. Gento grabbed Yang’s leg and persistently looked for a submission, but after a long period on the ground, the referee called for a standup. Yang Jiyong used his positional advantage against the grounded Gento and ended the second round with some ground and pound.
In the final round, Gento’s takedown attempt was blocked. Instead, Yang took the back position and took the ground fight to the ground, where they remained until the end of the round. With the unanimous decision victory, Yang improved his MMA record to 9-1.
Unlimited weight Shim Gun-oh (Kim Dae-hwan MMA) vs Kim Myung-hwan (Extreme Combat)
The two were scheduled to lock fists at Road FC 063 in February, but the event was canceled due to Kim’s injury. When the fight was rescheduled, the two traded blows and battled it out.
Sim stands at 1.88 meters tall and weighs 127 kilograms, while Kim stands at 1.93 meters tall and weighs 133 kilograms.
The first round started with Sim pressing forward. Kim gained the momentum by landing a one-two after a heavy calf kick, and the two exchanged punches one after the other. Kim Myung Hwan took a series of punches as he fell backward. There was a lull on the cage for a while from the middle of the round. Kim Myung-hwan then tried to muddy the waters, and Shen Jian-oh responded with an uppercut.
The two continued to trade blows in the clinch. With just over a minute left, a punch rush by Kim Myung-hwan worked. Shim collapsed to the floor of the cage, and the referee waved the fight off. With his first loss to a Korean fighter, Sim Gun-oh improved his MMA record to 7-5-1 with one no contest, while Kim Myung-hwan improved his record to 7-1.
63kg Bantamweight Yoo Jae-nam (Road FC X Doubling) vs Han Yoon-soo (Sejong Team Finish)
Kicking off the second part of the tournament, Yoo Jae-nam and Han Yoon-soo competed in a five-minute second round match, just like the first part. Yoo Jae-nam’s initial rush stood out. Han Yoon-soo calmly pressured. At the beginning of the round, Yoo made a surprise tackle and took Han to the ground. In the ensuing standup, Han pressed forward and Yoo circled the cage, landing intermittent strikes.안전놀이터
With just over a minute left in the first round, a fiery exchange of strikes ensued. Han set the tone with a mix of knees and punches. Yoo fought back with his powerful back hand.
At the start of the second round, they exchanged kicks at the same time. Yoo landed a takedown after an unorthodox combination of high kicks and punches. A ground fight ensued for a while. In the standing position, it was a picture of Han Yun-su pressing and Yoo Jae-nam attacking on the fly. Han Yoon-soo scored points with a calf kick and Yoo Jae-nam with a punch. With less than a minute left in the match, Yoo once again led the ground fight. After the match, both raised their hands to show their ‘victory’.
Lafferty raised Yoo’s hand. Yoo won the fight by unanimous decision, improving his MMA record to 9-10.