After almost 22 months and multiple cancellations due to the pandemic, Top Fighting Championship returned on Saturday night in Uljin, South Korea with TFC Dream 7. It was a night fill with violent stoppages, with only one fight going the distance.
In the headliner, kickboxing specialist Sung Hyuk Choi showed off his submission skills against Byung Seok Kim in a lightweight clash and ended the evening early.
Choi blasted out the gate with four unanswered kicks to the inside thigh. While Kim tried to work his hands, he landed a counter straight right that had his opponent bounce back.
The pressure had Kim with his back to the fence for long stretches. During a combination by Choi, the King Kong Gym product dipped under and completed a takedown with relative ease.
Perfectly timed
They both fought for position on the ground with little damage being done. Choi timed a sweep perfectly and scrambled into mount.
Kim gave up his back and stood up with his neck exposed. Choi wrapped it up and fell back to the ground. Instead of fighting the hands, Kim tried to push the legs off which only made the choke tighter so he tapped with a grimace on his face.
The 26-year-old Choi elevates his record to 4-1 while Kim is finished for the third straight time and drops to 2-3.
Highly touted
The co-main event was a battle between two highly-touted bantamweights representing some of the best fight teams in the country. Dong Hoon Choi of Pohang Team MAD took on Korean Top Team’s Seo Ho Cho and ended the fight in the second round.
In the early stages of the opening round, Cho was in control of the striking exchanges. He was able to connect with a step-in knee and a counter left hook that had his foe sliding backward.
The 24-year-old Choi fired back with a beautiful overhand right, left hook combo to the face. Then he turned on the speed darting in and out with more punches. Even though Choi was chopping at the legs, it did not seem to have an effect on his opponent.
Ill advised
After a couple more exchanges where Choi landed with more accuracy, he turned up the volume and swarmed against the cage with shots to the body and head.
He continued the pressure into the next round and push forward with more activity. Cho was only able to connect with the leg kick sparingly and had no answers for the speed and switching of stance by his adversary.
The 26-year-old Cho dived in for an ill-advised takedown and ate some punches after he got his back taken. Choi let him back up and clipped him instantly with an overhand right.
A short break due to a groin shot and they were back at it heavy with wild punches being thrown. Choi lunged in with a left hook that collapsed Cho and after a myriad of shots to the dome, the referee jumped in the stop the fight.
While Choi (1-0) picks up an emphatic finish in his professional debut, Cho (0-1) loses his first fight.
Best of the rest
Kickboxer turned YouTube personality Soo Yeon Kim (1-0) battled it out with Bo Ram Han (0-2) and won a unanimous decision in her debut. The 21-year-old Rise veteran utilized her striking background to land the more damaging shots to cruise to the victory.
TFC Dream 7, Uljin, July 17th
Sung Hyuk Choi def. Byung Seok Kim via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:40 of Round 1
Dong Hoon Choi def. Seo Ho Cho via TKO (Strikes) at 3:19 of Round 2
Chan Soo Lee def. Kyung Min Cho via TKO (Punches) at 3:16 of Round 1
Chang Bin Park def. Kujanson via TKO (Punches) at 3:52 of Round 3
Soo Yeon Kim def. Bo Ram Han via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 of Round 3
Jun Hyun Park def. Ji Won Park via TKO (Punches) at 1:30 of Round 1
Yi Sak Lee def. Hyo Sung Eun via TKO (Punches) at 1:40 of Round 1
Geun Hee Kim def. Jung Kyun Kim via TKO (Punches) at 2:48 of Round 3
Jun Ho Shin def. Young Uk Woo via TKO (Strikes) at 4:50 of Round 1
Eo Jin Park def. Gi Seung Ham via Submission (Standing Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:48 of Round 2
Sang Min Park def. Hyung Joo Seo via TKO (Strikes) at 1:10 of Round 2
Seon Kyu Jung def. Guk Hee Lee via TKO (Strikes) at 3:14 of Round 1
No-Gi Special Match: Hyun Soo Lee vs Seon Ho Hong, Draw
