Kim Chang-Hyun regrets "retiring from MMA”
2017-02-04 07:00
Kim Chang-Hyun says “I deeply regret retiring from MMA.”
“Armbar” Kim Chang-Hyun (17-10, Team MAD) will face Andy Main in the International Trials for the ROAD FC $1 Million Lightweight Tournament on February 11, 2017. Ahead of the match, he shared his reasons for retiring after his last fight, and why he's returning to the cage.
Kim Chang-Hyun hails from the original generation of Mixed Martial Artists in Korea. Back in 2004, he started his pro career in NeoFight, and ran up a 6-fight win streak through Gimme Five with four armbar finishes, thus earning his fight name.
Competition only got tougher as Kim fought in Spirit MC, HEAT, King of the Cage, Sengoku, and finally ROAD FC where he signed on for the third event in 2011. While he was always competitive, back and forth matches at the top of the division against Kume Takasuke, Daisuke Nakamura, and Shinji Sasaki left him on a rocky road after 11 years of fighting.
When Kim took his last fight against Sasaki, he fractured his finger and along with other nagging injuries, he gave himself an ultimatum,
“If I lost that fight, I made the decision that I was going to retire, so I kept my word. I retired to protect myself and deal with the injuries. Also, I needed to work a different job because the money I made from fighting wasn't enough.”
Kim completely gave up the cage, he said, even though it was hard,
“To live the life of a fighter for 10 years, and then simply walk away, it's not easy to do. First I recovered from my injuries. And I stayed away from the gym. But then one day I went in and saw all my teammates preparing for fights. It really made me miss the past.”
Then came a huge prize tournament that had never been seen before, and Kim rethought his whole life,
“ROAD FC has gotten much bigger in the last couple of years. I started having even more hunger to be in the cage again. To be honest, the $1 Million Tournament was the main reason I came out of retirement.”
Kim is hungrier now more than ever, but he is a wizened veteran who tempers dreams with past experience,
“I know that by returning to MMA, I can't keep those injuries away, that's obviously not going to happen. Also, I admit I am a little worried that I've got cage rust. So I'm focusing regaining the mindset of a winner.”
Kim has tournament experience before, so he knows what it's like to look at a field of competitors and strategize about his route. First things first, he's focused on Andy Main,
“There are many strong fighters in this tournament, it's high quality. And my first opponent is a well-known champion. He's going to be a tricky opponent. He's ambidextrous and is taller than me. I'm training as hard as possible for this fight.”
Kim has a fan base in Korea and abroad that is strong and deep. He's aware that he's fighting to live up to their pride in him,
“It will be an honor to stand in that cage again.”
For his updates, follow @mr.armbar on Instagram.
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