It is predicted that there is a high probability that Double G champion Kim Han-seul (34) will achieve his goal if he succeeds in his third attempt to enter the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization.
Road to UFC Season 3 opens on May 18 at the China Performance Institute Shanghai. ‘Korean Zombie’ Jeong Chan-seong’s (37) student Kim Han-seul will face Baa Turbo Ray Vater Borati (27, China) in a welterweight (-77kg) one-match match.
Road to UFC was launched in 2022 to scout mixed martial arts talent in Asia. If you win the quarterfinals tournament for each weight class or show good skills in a single match, you will be eligible for a formal contract.
Enlarge photo Kim Han-seul (left) Welterweight one-match, Vaterborai Vaterborati lightweight tournament Road to UFC Season 2 profile. Photo = TKO
UFC commentator Kim Dae-hwan (45) said in an interview with MK Sports, “Korea’s welterweight division is a weight class that does not have many major talent. I hope the competition company gives Kim Han-seul a chance. “If we achieve perfect attendance and two wins in one match for three consecutive seasons at RTU, we will gain more justification,” he said.
In Season 1 of Road to UFC, Kim Han-seul defeated Universal Reality Combat Championship welterweight champion John Adazar (28, Philippines) with a combination of triangle choke and arm break. However, in the season 2 single match, he was KO’d by an elbow attack from Tai Iraker Nuer Aji (23, China).
Vater Borati Vater Borati and Thai Iraker Nuer Aji have something in common: they are from China’s Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region. In May 2023, Vater Borati defeated GLADIATOR (Japan) and double G champion Won Ki-bin (33) by foul in the quarterfinals of the Road to UFC lightweight (-70kg) tournament.
Enlarge photo Vaterborai Vaterborati (left) and Won Ki-bin Road to UFC Season 2 lightweight quarterfinals. Photo = TKO
Gi-bin Ki is also a disciple of Chan-sung Jeong. Hanseul Kim vs. Vater Borati Vater Borati one match is a mixed martial arts showdown involving various ties, including Korea, China, Kazakhs, and Priest’s Revenge. Commissioner Kim Dae-hwan said, “Looking at last year’s Road to UFC performance, Kim Han-seul is capable of doing it,” and said he could surpass Vater Borati.
Kim Han-seul vs. Thai Iraker Nueol-aji was so hot that they exchanged 122 valid hits in 6 minutes and 38 seconds. Commissioner Kim Dae-hwan said, “Although we faced a very strong human opponent, it was truly a great match,” and believed that the loss in RTU Season 2 did not completely prevent us from advancing to the UFC.
Of course, this is a logic that can only be unfolded if you win in Season 3 and get 2 wins. Vaterborati Vaterborati achieved a record of 1 win, 1 loss in the U.S. Legacy Fighting Alliance at welterweight in 2022, when he began to receive international attention.
Enlarge photo Vaterborai Vaterborati (left) is making his U.S. mixed martial arts debut in a welterweight bout, broadcast on UFC Fight Pass in June 2022. Photo = Legacy Fighting Alliance
Until 2021, he even won three times in the Chinese mixed martial arts middleweight class (-84kg). This means that his performance in last year’s Road to UFC lightweight tournament may not be up to par due to weight loss.
Bacherborei Vaterborati defeated Ki-bin Ki and advanced to the semifinals, but was eliminated without being able to compete in the semifinals due to a failed weigh-in. Her weight at the time was 73 kg, which was 3 kg more than the lightweight standard.
We must be wary of the fact that the KO win rate in mixed martial arts, including middleweight matches, is 55.6%. There is a good possibility that Vaater Borai Vater Borati welterweight destructive power is as good as Thai Iraker Nuergagi.
Enlarge photo Kim Han-seul (left) is clashing fists with Thai Iraker Nuer-Aji in the welterweight bout in Road to UFC Season 2. Photo = TKO
Commissioner Kim Dae-hwan said, “No one can boast of innate strength like Thai Iraker Nueol-aji. Most people avoid jumping in when they see a fire pit in front of them. However, he pointed out, “Kim Han-seul has the temperament to fight fiercely when he does well and is on the rise.”
Kim Han-seul’s biggest advantage is his one-shot strike, which has a KO win rate of 53.8%. A representative example is his defeat of Frank Camacho (35, Northern Mariana Islands), who would later become a UFC fighter, by TKO in the first round in 2016.
Commissioner Kim Dae-hwan said, “If he becomes more diverse like his teacher Chan-sung Jeong, he will be a talented person who will show more (in practice) than he does now. “As my physical condition is good, if I develop a mature fighting style, I can raise expectations even further,” he said, cheering for Kim Han-seul’s victory in Road to UFC Season 3.
Enlarge photo Kim Han-seul Road to UFC Season 1 welterweight one-time match. Photo = TKO
Kim Han-seul has a height of 185 cm and a wingspan (both arms + shoulders) of 190 cm, making him comparable to world-class athletes in the mixed martial arts welterweight division. Compared to Vaterborati, who has yet to lose in the middleweight division and is 180cm tall and 182cm long, the physique advantage is more evident.
In the RTU single match, one person from each of ▲light heavyweight (-93kg) ▲women’s strawweight (-52kg, season 1) ▲flyweight (-57kg, season 2) was given a formal contract. Attention is being paid to whether Kim Han-seul will surpass Vater Borati and continue the Korean UFC welterweight lineage.
Enlarge photo Kim Han-seul Road to UFC Season 2 weigh-in. Photo = TKO
Kim Han-seul’s mixed martial arts career
2022-2023 Road to UFC 1 win, 1 loss
2021 Double G Welterweight Champion
2020 Double G Welterweight Title Match
2015 PXC (Guam) welterweight champion challenge
Vater Borai Vater Borati Mixed Martial Arts Experience
2023 Road to UFC lightweight semifinals
2022 LFA (USA) welterweight 1 win 1 loss
3 wins in middleweight competition in China from 2019 to 2021
Korean UFC welterweight fighter history
2008-2017 Dong-hyun Kim 13 wins, 4 losses, 1 void
2013-2017 Lim Hyun-gyu 3 wins, 4 losses
2015 Kim Dong-hyun B 1 loss (later lightweight)
Kang Dae-ho, MK Sports reporter
