Kim Sang-wook (32, Havas MMA), a protégé of "Stun Gun" Kim Dong-hyun and a fighter from UDT, has missed his chance to enter the UFC.
On October 1, during the final of the "ROAD TO UFC (RTU)" Season 4 lightweight tournament held at Kudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, Kim faced Dom Marpan (25, Australia) and lost by unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 27-30). As a result, Kim's hopes of joining the UFC were dashed, while Marpan secured his spot in the organization.
In the match, Kim displayed an aggressive approach, targeting Marpan effectively. However, in the third round, he faced a setback when he received a low blow from Marpan. Ultimately, the judges scored all three rounds in favor of Marpan, citing his slight edge in performance. Following the decision, Kim was seen shedding tears.
RTU is a tournament designed to provide promising MMA fighters from the Asia-Pacific region with an opportunity to compete on the UFC stage. Kim advanced to the finals after defeating Daichi Kamiya (TKO in Round 2) and Renya Wei (submission in Round 2), but he was unable to overcome the final hurdle.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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