Two of the best mixed martial artists in Korea – Yang Dongi and Lim Hyun-Gyu – co-headlined the first-ever Double G FC show and scored big wins against international talent.
The main event proved to be a demolition even though Yang was moving up two weight classes to face a recently unretired Paul Cheng.
The action blasted off immediately with ‘The Ox’ catching a kick about fifteen seconds in and taking Cheng to the mat. Although the Taiwanese-Canadian was able to pull Yang into his guard, the South Korean displayed his power and placed him into the fence. This was the beginning of the end for Cheng.
The Team Macho powerhouse commenced to sit in half guard and hold top position for the rest of the fight. Taking clean hammerfists and left hands to the face eliminated any kind of escape plan for Cheng and the referee stopped the fight after a number of unanswered shots.
UFC veterans
The UFC veteran Yang (14-3) made a successful return to the cage after a three-year roller coaster of canceled events and unfortunate happenstances, earning his fourth consecutive knockout victory. Cheng (5-3) was finished in the opening round for the second straight outing.
After the fight, Yang got on the mic and expressed his gratitude to Cheng for flying all the way over from Canada to compete. The 33 year old also stated that this was his last fight at heavyweight and he will be dropping back down to middleweight for the next show.
In the co-main event, Lim Hyun-Gyu, also a former UFC competitor, went up a weight class and faced former ONE Championship middleweight champ Igor Svirid.
Despite being apprehensive at the start, ‘The Ace’ stuck to a methodical game plan and executed everything communicated by his new set of coaches to get the unanimous decision on the scorecards.
Successful comebacks
From the start, Lim came out and took the center of the cage yet it was Svirid who landed more with the jab and left hooks causing some redness around the right eye. Halfway through the first round, both fighters had busted noses from solid shots.
With less than a minute remaining in the first, Lim turned the tide with an overhand right to the temple that seemed to have Svirid shaky and backpedaling.
The Kazakh fighter tried to take the fight to the canvas in the early seconds of the middle frame but Lim defended well and connected with knees in the clinch. Following that exchange, it was all Lim with head movement and combinations that were set up by the jab.
For the next nine minutes, the South Korean unceasingly walked down Svirid while finding a home for the jab over and over. Every time his corner yelled out an instruction, Lim responded immediately and never swayed away from what was clearly winning him the fight.
After fifteen minutes of technical striking from both competitors, Lim (14-7-1) raised his hand when the announcer called his name as the winner.
Being away from the cage for more than a year and jumping up to middleweight were big burdens to overcome for the 33-year-old but he proved that he can stick to a strategy and eke out a win instead of being a wild man just looking for the knockout.
Double G FC 1, Seoul, November 18
Yang Dongi def. Paul Cheng via TKO (Punches) at 2:06 of R1
Lim Hyun Gyu def. Igor Svirid via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 of R3
Kim Tae-Kyun def. Hong Seung-Ho via Decision (Split) at 5:00 of R3
Kang Sin-Ho def. Park Chung-Il via Submission (Armbar) at 2:31 of R3
Park Hyun-Sung def. Kwon Min-Soo via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 of R2
Lim Jeong-Min def. Kwak Won via Submission (Scissor Lock) at 2:15 of R2
Lee Hoon-Seok def. Kim In-Su via TKO (Punches) at 1:18 of R2
Yang Dong-Kyun def.Kim Deok-Hwa via TKO (Punches) at 0:39 of R2
Park Bo-Hyeon def. Kim Hye-Seon via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 of R2
