Doo Ho Choi aims to become 1st Asian UFC champ

Former UFC Champion Lyoto Machida is of Japanese descent representing the country of Brazil.  Doo Ho Choi is aiming to be the first from the Asian continent to be a UFC Champion. Korean MMA fans must have been thrilled with the dazzling performance of Choi Doo-ho shown at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) last weekend. At the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 23 Finale in Las Vegas, Friday, the 25-year-old rookie, often dubbed “Korean Superboy,” scored another first-round knockout in a featherweight match against Thiago Tavares of Brazil in a little under three minutes. With the win, Choi extended his knockout streak to three out of his three UFC bouts. Choi made his UFC debut in November 2014 in a knockout win against Juan Manuel Puig of Mexico, scoring a second knockout win against Sam Sicilia of the United States in Seoul last November. All three bouts ended in the first round. Many Korean MMA fans are anticipating that Choi could become the first Korean champion in his weight class. There was Jung Chan-sung, another Korean fighter who lost to then-champion Jose Aldo in a UFC featherweight title match in 2013. No other Asian fighters have had a title match since then. At a press conference at a gym in Seoul, Tuesday, Choi expressed his confidence he could become the UFC’s first Asian champion. “I have confidence that I can become the first Asian UFC champion,” Choi said. “Without such confidence, no one can earn a champion title.” Choi explained that he “feels so happy to play at UFC.” “Every fighter dreams to have a bout at the UFC and this is why they train hard. To me, the fact that I can have a UFC bout just makes me happy,” he said. Choi said not only enjoying bouts at the UFC, he also enjoys keen attention in the media. “I also enjoy all the attention paid to me. Every UFC champion is active with media appearances. I think this is a part of the process to become a champion,” he said. When asked about fellow Korean fighters such as Jung, dubbed the “Korean Zombie,” and Kim Dong-hyun, better known as “Stun Gun,” Choi expressed his gratitude to them for paving the way for him. “Kim and Jung have proved that there are incredible MMA fighters in Korea. Thanks to them I could grab a chance,” he said. “Though I think I am far behind them, I am getting stronger day by day and I guess I can surpass them in the near future.”

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