First reported by MMA-In-Asia.com, a Lightweight tournament is set to take place at ROAD FC 009: Beatdown, an event which goes down on September 15th. The tournament will see a new 155-lbs champion crowned in the South Korea-based promotion.
And as confirmed earlier by ROAD Fighting Championship, a Middleweight tilt between Melvin Manhoef and Kim Jae Young, along with a Catchweight Superfight pitting Minowaman and Yuk Jin Soo have also been booked for the event.
A total of 4 fights will be on hand in the 1st leg of the inaugural Lightweight tournament. The first bout will see Spirit MC veteran Nam Yui Chul up against Masahiro Toryu. Yui Chul, who is known for his aggressive fighting style, has also competed in Legend FC where he holds a record 1-2-1 in the promotion. Once the owner of an 8-fight win streak in Spirit MC, Yui Chul holds a record of 13-4-1 in his professional MMA career. He is also undefeated in his stint with ROAD FC thus far. Masahiro Toryu, in the meantime, has competed primarily in Japan’s Pancrase promotion. With a professional MMA record of 11-8-9(1), the Japanese fighter is winless in his last 6 outings.
The 2nd fight pits Kim Chang Hyun(16-8) against Takasuke Kume (13-1-4). Both fighters are veterans in the sport, having a combined total of 42 fights between them. Kume is one of the up-and-comers in Japanese Mixed Martial Arts, and is currently on a tear with a 7-fight winning streak in his pocket. After marking his promotional ROAD FC debut with a submission win over Hyung Suk Lee, Kume Triangle-Choked Koji Nakamura at Pancrase Tour 7. Having been defeated only once in his career, it is assumed that Kume would be one of the early favorites to win this tournament. Kim Chang Hyun, on the other hand, is 2-3 in his past 5 fights, falling short against Maximo Blanco, Kosuke Umeda and Daisuke Nakamura. The South Korean kicked off his MMA career with a 6-fight winning streak, before suffering his first loss against Yong Jae Jun. Fighting out of CMA Makoto Gym, the 25-year-old has competed in King of the Cage and Spirit MC.
The 3rd fight of the Lightweight tournament will be a battle between 2 fighters who are no strangers in the Asian MMA fight scene. Vuyisile Colossa (4-2), a dangerous striker, was last seen at ROAD FC 005: Night of Champions, where he was decisioned by Nam Yui Chul. Prior to that defeat, the South African was on a 2-fight winning streak, gaining stoppage wins over Stefan Lukovnikov and Xing Yu Ma at Draka: Governor’s Cup 2010 and ONE FC 1: Champion vs. Champion respectively. His opponent, Seok Mo Kim, is 3-1 under the ROAD FC banner thus far. Prior to suffering back-to-back defeats against BJJ maestro Gregor Gracie, Malaysian favorite Adam Shahir Kayoom and Zebaztian Kadestam, the South Korean marked his promotional ROAD FC debut with a TKO win over Jung Min Kwang at ROAD FC 2: Alive. Mo Kim holds a professional MMA record of 5-5.
The last fight of the Lightweight tournament, will feature Lee Yong Jae (6-3) and Kim Won Gi. With a resume that includes professional fights with the likes of Wang Sai and Rodney MacSwain, Lee Yong Jae is on a 2-fight winning streak and is 2-0 under the ROAD FC banner. Kim Won Gi, in the meantime, is 1-1-1 in his professional MMA career thus far, and was last seen at ROAD FC 008: Bitter Rivals where he gained a Unanimous Decision victory over Seong Jin Hong.
With that said, the latest ROAD FC 009: Beatdown fight card now features the following bouts:
- Melvin Manhoef vs. Kim Jae Young
- Minowaman vs. Yuk Sin Joo
Lightweight Tournament
- Nam Yui Chul vs. Masahiro Toryu
- Kim Chang Hyun vs. Takasuke Kume
- Kim Seok Mo vs. Vuyisile Colossa
- Lee Yong Jae vs. Kim Won Gi
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