Following Soo Chul Kim’s capture of the ONE FC Bantamweight title strap, the South Korean prospect was diagnosed with a shoulder injury, in which a long rehabilitation period was recommended. And that eventually paved way for an interim 135-lbs title match between former DREAM maestro Bibiano Fernandes and Koetsu Okazaki at the upcoming ONE FC 9: Rise to Power event in Manilla, Philippines.
ROAD FC 012 fight card update: Lee Yoon Jung replaces Soo Chul Kim
However, following the 21-year-old’s quick recovery and without the need to undergo surgery, Kim was then tasked to face Takafumi Otsuka at ROAD FC 012 on June 22nd in Wonju, South Korea.
MMA-In-Asia.com first brought word of the update before ROAD FC made an official announcement, via Facebook, regarding the change in opponent. According to ROAD FC officials, ROAD FC CEO Jung Moon Hong and ONE FC CEO Victor Cui have spoken together regarding Kim’s rapid recovery.
Apparently, Cui asked Jung to protect the value of Kim, with a future title defense planned for a ONE FC fight card later this year. And the ROAD FC CEO agreed, promptly bringing in a new face for Otsuka in the form of Lee Yoon Jung.
Lee Yoon Jung, of course, is a native of Korean Zombie MMA, home of UFC contender and veteran, Chan Sung Jung.
The rest of the line-up for ROAD FC 012 remains relatively untouched, for now.
Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for news and updates with regards to ROAD FC 012.
As it stands, here’s the updated fight card:
- Kil Woo Lee vs. Min Jong Song (ROAD FC Bantamweight Tournament Final)
- Myung Ho Bae vs. Andrews Nakahara
- Lee Yoon Jung vs. Takafumi Otsuka
- Bae Yong Kwon vs. Michihiro Omigawa (ROAD FC Featherweight Tournament match-up)
- Masako Yoshida vs. TBA
- Ji Hoon Kim vs. Ryuta Noji
- Celine Haga vs. TBA
- Dool-hee Lee vs. Ryo Kawamura
- Chang Hyun Kim vs. Kosuke Umeda (ROAD FC Featherweight Tournament match-up)
- Young Bok Gil vs. Won Ki Kim (ROAD FC Featherweight Tournament match-up)
- Moo Gyum Choi vs. Herbert Geven (ROAD FC Featherweight Tournament match-up)
- Yoon Huh vs. Byung Ok Cho (Reserve ROAD FC Featherweight Tournament match-up)
- Yoon Jun Lee vs. Winner of INTO League Tournament
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