ROAD Fighting Championship

ROAD Fighting Championship
Private
Industry Mixed martial arts event
Founded October 2010
Founder Mun-Hong Jung
Headquarters Wonju, South Korea
Key people
 Mun-Hong Jung, CEO
Park Sang-min (singer)
Website http://www.roadfc.com/

ROAD Fighting Championship (ROAD FC) (Hangul: 로드FC) is a South Korea based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010.[1] To December 2016, ROAD FC will have held 38 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China - with a total of 456 professional MMA matches.[2]

About ROAD Fighting Championship

ROAD FC was founded in 2010 by former national kickboxing champion, Mun-Hong Jung.[3] It is the largest MMA organization in South Korea following the closure of Spirit MC in 2009,[4] and with expansion into Japan and China, one of the largest in Asia.[5]

The first event, ROAD FC 1: The Resurrection of Champions, was held on October 23, 2010 in Seoul, South Korea.[6] In 2015, ROAD FC expanded into the Japan market with ROAD FC 24 in Japan on July 25 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Also in 2015, it held its first event in China with ROAD FC 27 in China in Shanghai on December 26,[7] starting a 3-year broadcast deal with China's state broadcaster CCTV.[8] The event was the first live MMA event to be aired on CCTV5 and garnered a viewership of 35 million.[9]

In 2012 ROAD FC organized an amateur MMA competition system to encourage growth, experience, and support for the sport of MMA in Korea.[10] The amateur and semi-pro Central and Into Leagues provide a structured, safe, and competitive atmosphere for beginning fighters. They gain experience before transitioning into professional competition. The Young Guns undercard series features amateurs transitioning into professionals, foreign fighters new to ROAD FC, and fighters who are trying to make a comeback.

Broadcasts

In South Korea, events are broadcast live and on delay and replay on Super Action, a major cable TV channel of CJ E&M in Korea,[11] online on afreecaTV, and online on Daum.

In China, events are broadcast live and on delay and replay on CCTV-5,[12] the predominant state television broadcaster in the People's Republic of China, online on Yy.com.[13]

In Japan, events have been broadcast live and on delay and replay on Niconico, Tokyo MX, and Abema

In SouthEast Asia, events are broadcast on Kix.

Internationally, events are streamed pay per view through Epicentre.tv.[14]

Scheduled events

Event Date Venue Location
ROAD FC 035: Kim Bo-sung vs Kondo Tetsuo December 10, 2016 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea

Past events

# Event Date Venue Location
36 ROAD FC 034[15] November 19, 2016 Hebei Gymnasium Shijiazhuang, China
35 ROAD FC 033[16] September 24, 2016 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
35 ROAD FC 032[17] July 2, 2016 Hunan International Convention & Exhibition Centre Changsha, China
34 ROAD FC 031[18] May 14, 2016 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
33 ROAD FC 030: In China April 16, 2016 Beijing Workers' Gymnasium Beijing, China
32 ROAD FC 029 March 12, 2016 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
31 ROAD FC 028 January 31, 2016 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
30 ROAD FC 027: In China December 26, 2015 Shanghai Oriental Sports Center Shanghai, China
29 ROAD FC 026 October 9, 2015 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
28 ROAD FC 025 August 22, 2015 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
27 ROAD FC 024: In Japan July 25, 2015 Ariake Coliseum Tokyo, Japan
26 ROAD FC 023 May 2, 2015 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
25 ROAD FC 022 March 21, 2015 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
24 ROAD FC 021: Champions Day February 1, 2015 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
23 ROAD FC 020 December 14, 2014 Olympic Hall Seoul, South Korea
22 ROAD FC 019 November 9, 2014 Olympic Hall Seoul, South Korea
21 ROAD FC 018 August 30, 2014 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
20 ROAD FC 017 August 17, 2014 Olympic Hall Seoul, South Korea
19 ROAD FC 016 July 27, 2014 Park Chung Hee Gymnasium Gumi, South Korea
18 ROAD FC 015 May 31, 2014 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
17 ROAD FC KOREA 003: Korea vs. Brazil April 6, 2014 The K Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
16 ROAD FC KOREA 002: Korea vs. Japan March 9, 2014 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
15 ROAD FC 014 February 9, 2014 Olympic Hall Seoul, South Korea
14 ROAD FC KOREA 001 January 18, 2014 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
13 ROAD FC 013 October 12, 2013 Park Chung Hee Gymnasium Gumi, South Korea
12 ROAD FC 012 June 22, 2013 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
11 ROAD FC 011 April 13, 2013 Olympic Hall Seoul, South Korea
10 ROAD FC 010: In Busan November 24, 2012 BEXCO Auditorium Busan, South Korea
9 ROAD FC 009: Beat Down September 15, 2012 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
8 ROAD FC 008: Final 4 Bitter Rivals June 16, 2012 Chiak Gymnasium Wonju, South Korea
7 ROAD FC 007: Recharged March 24, 2012 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
6 ROAD FC 006: Final 4 February 5, 2012 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
5 ROAD FC 005: Night of Champions December 3, 2011 Jangchung Gymnasium Seoul, South Korea
4 ROAD FC 004: Young Guns October 3, 2011 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
3 ROAD FC 003: Explosion July 24, 2011 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
2 ROAD FC 002: Alive April 16, 2011 Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul Seoul, South Korea
1 ROAD FC 001: The Resurrection of Champions October 23, 2010 Textile Center Event Hall Seoul, South Korea

Champions

Current Champions

Division Champion Since DefensesNext Challenger/Title Fight
Openweight United States Mighty Mo September 24, 2016 0 vs. Carlos Toyota (December 10, 2016 @ROAD FC 035)
Light Heavyweight vacant
Middleweight South Korea Jung Hwan Cha January 31, 2016 0 vs. Young Choi (December 10, 2016 @ROAD FC 035)
Welterweight vacant
Lightweight South Korea A Sol Kwon August 17, 2014 1 vs. Shinji Sasaki (December 10, 2016 @ROAD FC 035)
Featherweight South Korea Mu Gyeom Choi February 9, 2014 3
Bantamweight vacant Soo Chul Kim vs. Min Woo Kim (date TBA)
Flyweight South Korea Min Jong Song October 9, 2015 0

Championship History

ROAD FC Openweight Championship
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 United States Mighty Mo
def. Hong Man Choi		 ROAD FC 033
Seoul, South Korea		 September 24, 2016 72 days
(incumbent)
ROAD FC Middleweight Championship (-84 kg)
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 Japan Shungo Oyama
def. Hae Suk Son		 ROAD FC 006
Seoul, South Korea		 February 5, 2012 294 days
2 South Korea Eun Soo Lee
 ROAD FC 010
Busan, South Korea		 November 24, 2012 585 days
Lee vacated the title in July 2014 for droping down to welterweight. [19]
3 Japan Riki Fukuda
def. Uh Jin Jeon		 ROAD FC 024
Tokyo, Japan		 July 25, 2015 190 days
4 South Korea Jung Hwan Cha
 ROAD FC 028
Seoul, South Korea		 January 31, 2016 309 days
(incumbent)
ROAD FC Lightweight Championship (-70 kg)
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 South Korea Yui Chul Nam
def. Takasuke Kume		 ROAD FC 011
Seoul, South Korea		 April 13, 2013 295 days
 1. def. Takasuke Kume at ROAD FC 013 on October 12, 2013
Nam vacated the title in February 2014 after signing a contract with Las Vegas based Zuffa's Ultimate Fighting Championship. [20]
2 South Korea A Sol Kwon
def. Takasuke Kume		 ROAD FC 017
Seoul, South Korea		 August 17, 2014 841 days
(incumbent)		 1. def. Kwang Hee Lee at ROAD FC 022 on March 21, 2015
ROAD FC Featherweight Championship (-65.5 kg)
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 South Korea Mu Gyeom Choi
def. Bae Yong Kwon		 ROAD FC 014
Seoul, South Korea		 February 9, 2014 1,030 days
(incumbent)		 1. def. Doo Won Seo at ROAD FC 021 on February 1, 2015
2. def. Marlon Sandro at ROAD FC 029 on March 12, 2016
3. def. Murat Kazgan at ROAD FC 034 on November 19, 2016
ROAD FC Bantamweight Championship (-61.5 kg)
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 South Korea Kyung Ho Kang
def. Andrew Leone		 ROAD FC 008
Wonju, South Korea		 June 16, 2012 16 days
Kang vacated the title in July 2012 after signing with Ultimate Fighting Championship. [21]
2 South Korea Kil Woo Lee
def. Min Jong Song		 ROAD FC 012
Wonju, South Korea		 June 22, 2013 540 days
3 South Korea Yoon Jun Lee
 ROAD FC 020
Seoul, South Korea		 December 14, 2014 722 days
(incumbent)		 1. def. Jae Hoon Moon at ROAD FC 023 on May 2, 2015
Lee vacated the title in July 2016 suffering cerebral infarction. [22]
ROAD FC Flyweight Championship (-57 kg)
No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)		Defenses
1 South Korea Nam Jin Jo
def. Min Jong Song		 ROAD FC 016
Gumi, South Korea		 July 27, 2014 439 days
- South Korea Min Jong Song
def. Takeshi Kasugai for interim title		 ROAD FC 021
Seoul, South Korea		 February 1, 2015 250 days
2 South Korea Min Jong Song ROAD FC 026
Seoul, South Korea		 October 9, 2015 423 days
(incumbent)

Tournaments

ROAD FC held its first tournament in the middleweight division in 2012. Since then, it has held tournaments in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and openweight divisions, which have all led to a championship.

The next tournament ROAD FC has announced is a lightweight tournament in 2017 with thirty-two 70 kilogram fighters competing for a grand prize of one million US dollars.[23]

Year/weight division Champion Runner up Event
2012 Middleweight Japan Shungo Oyama Japan Son Hye-Seok ROAD FC 6: The Final Four
2012-2013 Lightweight South Korea Yui-Chul Nam Japan Takasuke Kume ROAD FC 11
2013 Bantamweight South Korea Kil-Woo Lee Japan Min-Jong Song ROAD FC 12
2013-2014 Featherweight South Korea Mu-Gyeom Choi South Korea Bae-Yong Kwon ROAD FC 14: Kwon vs. Choi
2016 Openweight United States Mighty Mo South Korea Hong-Man Choi ROAD FC 33
2017-2018 Lightweight ROAD FC TBD

Notable fighters

ROAD FC has many Korean fighters of note, and an international roster of fighters from Japan, Brazil, China, USA and more. In 2015, it signed former UFC fighter and TUF China veteran Lipeng Zhang to a multi-fight contract.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Road Less Traveled: Korea's Newest MMA Promotion Takes a Different Path - Bloody Elbow". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  2. ↑ http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/promotions/308-road-fighting-championship-rfc
  3. ↑ "Road FC Head Moon Hong Jung Talks Development of Korean and Asian MMA - Bloody Elbow". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  4. ↑ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/10/20/0200000000AEN20161020007000315.html
  5. ↑ "MMA and the possible looming battle for Asia ? | FSA - FightSport Asia". fightsportasia.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  6. ↑ http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/8112-road-fc-1-the-resurrection-of-champions
  7. ↑ http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/12/663_193444.html
  8. ↑ http://adcombat.com/road-fc-strategic-cooperation-conference-and-launch-ceremony-to-announce-cctv-broadcast-multimedia-scheme/
  9. ↑ http://rough.asia/news/road-fc-sets-second-china-show-in-beijing/
  10. ↑ http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/28687-road-fc-into-league-1
  11. ↑ "South Korea's Road FC to Hold 15 Shows in 2014 Through Partnership with CJ E&M". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  12. ↑ http://fightland.vice.com/blog/road-fc-enters-the-chinese-market-partners-with-countrys-tech-giants
  13. ↑ http://www.yy.com/c/rlgd/index.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.fightbookmma.com/road-fc-updates-live-english-commentary-girls-day-openweight-tournament-semifinals/
  15. ↑ http://fightnetwork.com/news/6579711:road-fc-034-results-photos-mu-gyeom-choi-aorigele-win-with-first-round-stoppages/
  16. ↑ http://www.fightbookmma.com/xiaomi-road-fc-033-official-results-mighty-mo-wins-first-openweight-championship-in-tie-breaker-with-choi-hong-man/
  17. ↑ http://adcombat.com/xiaomi-road-fc-032-official-results-photos-40-million-viewers-watch-on-cctv5/
  18. ↑ http://www.fight-madness.com/road-fc-31-results/
  19. ↑ "-MMA in Asia-ROAD FC Middleweight Champ Lee Eun-Su relinquishes title, plans drop to welterweight » -MMA in Asia-". mma-in-asia.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  20. ↑ "Takasuke Kume and A Sol Kwon to Battle for Vacant Lightweight Title at Road FC 17 | MMAWeekly.com". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  21. ↑ "Full Line-up for Road FC Bantamweight tournament announced | FSA - FightSport Asia". fightsportasia.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  22. ↑ "Bantamweight Champ Lee Yun-Jun relinquishes title". ROADFC. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  23. ↑ http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/10/5/13171310/road-fc-to-have-32-man-lightweight-tournament-with-1-million-prize
  24. ↑ http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/10/23/9602268/ufc-tuf-winner-zhang-lipeng-signs-with-road-fc-mma-china

External links

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