AFC 14 took place on Monday morning in Paju. There were some devastating knockouts throughout the event with Kim Jae Young topping it off by taking just 58 seconds to win the AFC interim middleweight title.
Coming into this interim middleweight title fight Cha In Ho was seen as the superior striker. The Road FC veteran doesn’t have an impressive MMA record but looked confident in his punches, landing a barrage of accurate combinations.
Not afraid to exchange, Cha connected with a flying knee to the chin around 30 seconds into the opening frame and had Kim backing up. While stalking his opponent and looking for openings, the Team MAD representative followed up with two solid left hooks.
Setting a trap
With his back to the fence, Kim ate a couple more punches while bobbing and weaving. However Cha failed to recognize that his experienced opponent was was luring him into a trap.
A perfectly timed counter right hand from Kim found its target. Cha hit the canvass face first but the 36 year old got in a couple more blows before the referee stepped in to call off the contest.
Cha was making a comeback after three years on the shelf. He looked sharp right up until the finish but drops to 3-5 after suffering three losses in succession.
After an unsuccessful stint fighting in Europe the last few years, Kim has returned to South Korea and snatched up a title in his second bout with AFC. His record improves to 25-13 and a unification bout with regular champion Sasha Palatnikov will surely happen once travel regulations are eased.
Calf kicks
Earlier in the night, Yoo Sang Hoon entered the cage for the first time since losing to Peter Barrett at Dana White’s Contender Series a year ago. He faced off against Ahn Kyeong Jun in the co-main event and finished the fight with ground and pound early in the second stanza.
‘The Korean Assassin’ began the opening round stabbing the midsection with front kicks and landing low kicks to the calf with precision. Ahn connected with short shots to the body and head, with little to choose between the two fighters in the early exchanges.
After gauging the distance and gaining confidence both fighters connected with powerful counters that snapped their opponent’s head back. Ahn became more aggressive as the round progressed but Yoo kept him at bay by consistently damaging the calf with low kicks.
Yoo came out in the second round with a sense of urgency and ripped off combinations. The Team MAD prospect partially clipped Ahn with a flying knee, then dropped him with another calf kick.
Ahn was trying to fend off the barrage by Yoo with a leg lock but ate a myriad of punches that lead to the ref call to fight. He drops to 2-4 while the Korean Assassin improves to 6-1.
Best of the rest
In the highlight of the night, Team MAD welterweight Ko Seok Hyun (5-1) flatlined Zombie MMA staple Park Mun Ho (3-2) in 51 seconds with a laser left hand. The Team MAD welterweight has won his last four with three knockouts in the first round which makes him a leading candidate for a title shot.
In other impressive performances, Zombie MMA’s Choi Byung Kwon (1-1) choked out Team Stun Gun’s Choi Ha Rang (0-1) and 17-year-old Park Jung Min (1-0) submitted the more experienced Kim Jung Kyun (1-2) via standing guillotine.
AFC 14, Paju, August 17th
Kim Jae Young def. Cha In Ho via KO (Punch) at 0:58 of Round 1 (Interim Middleweight Title)
Yoo Sang Hoon def. Ahn Kyeong Jun via TKO (Punches) at 0:33 of Round 2
Kickboxing: Ha Woon Pyo def, Kim Han Byeol via Decision (Unanimous) at 3:00 of Round 3
Oh Ho Taek def. Kim Sang Uk via Decision (Unanimous) 5:00 of Round 3
Ko Seok Hyun def. Park Mun Ho via KO (Punch) at 0:51 of Round 1
Choi Jae def. Cho Eun Bi via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 of Round 2
Park Jung Min def. Kim Jung Kyun via Submission (Standing Guillotine) at 1:17 of Round 1
Choi Byung Kwon def. Choi Ha Rang via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:48 of Round 2
