Road FC 11 Preview: Lightweight Championship, Hellboy, Sokoudjou

2012 was an exciting year for South Korea’s Road Fighting Championship as the promotion forged ahead onto a road which is truly less traveled. Not long ago, the promotion was staging events in a shopping mall. This weekend, it prepares to host a world-class show at the renowned Olympic Hall in Seoul.

Road FC 11, which takes place on April 13, will be broadcast on Korean cable television, and it will also stream over the internet. The event offers a strong and balanced fight card with named fighters from almost every weight class.

Road FC 11’s main event will feature a lightweight tournament final between Korean standout Yui Chul Nam and Japanese submission ace Takasuke Kume.

Nam has won five of his last six, with the single loss coming at the hands of Legend FC champion Jadamba Narantungalag. Kume has submitted his last nine opponents.

This fight marks a huge opportunity for both men to gain international acclaim. Expect Kume’s quickness and scrappy style to control the fight and earn him his first title by way of a second-round submission. Consistent with previous Road FC tournament fights, a fourth “sudden victory” round will be in effect, as needed.

Joachim Hansen, who has been on a Shootboxing diversion for the past year, will attempt to reboot his MMA career against “The Korean Pitbull”, Doo Won Seo.

Seo is on a six-fight winning streak and has finished three of his last four opponents in the first round. Hansen’s last MMA bout was in September 2011, when he fell to the ever-fierce Tatsuya Kawajiri, who forced him to tap out late in the fight.

This one has “Fight of the Night” potential. Look for the Korean to pull away in the final frame and take a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou can provide highlight-reel moments, at least until his gas tank runs empty. He’ll try to provide another spectacular finish against Seung Bae Whi.

Sokoudjou’s last outing ended in under a minute with him putting out Denis Komkin’s lights by way of a head kick. Whi is coming off back-to-back TKO victories over Shuji Morikawa and Denis Kang.

Both fighters in this one will be looking for a quick ending, and the victor will likely earn “Knockout of the Night.” The edge goes to Whi, having never been finished. Plus, he has a little home-field advantage, which never hurts either.

Also on the card is a middleweight showdown between newcomer Hyae Seok Son and Japan’s own Ikuhisa Minowa.

Son makes his MMA debut as a replacement for the injured Eun Soo Lee and is thrown into the fire against the legendary Japanese submission artist. Experience will prevail in this one, as Minowaman coaxes the tapout late in the first stanza.

Rounding out the main card will be a welterweight battle between Jung Hwan Cha and Brazil’s Luis Ramos.

Ramos is coming off a post-UFC decision win over Silmar Nunes, and Cha has finished his last two opponents, including Igor Gracie under the ONE FC banner.

After a slow start to his career, Cha seems to be firing on all cylinders and should roll to a unanimous decision victory in this one.

The undercard for the event contains the quarterfinals of a bantamweight tournament in Road FC’s “Young Guns” league. Bout match-ups for the tournament are as follows:

Jae Hoon Moon vs. Shoko Sato
Min Jung Song vs. Alan Yoshihiro
Myung Sik Kwak vs. Jung Gi Hong
Chul Yoon vs. Ho Joong Kim
Kim Sung Jae vs. Lee Kiloo (reserve match)

Road FC 11 will be available for live viewing across the globe via UStream.com pay-per-view.

Road FC will ratchet things up yet another notch for its next event. In the works, according to Cor MMA, is a superfight between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Melvin Manhoef.