Kim Dong-hyun (Korean: 김동현; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a South Korean retired mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division. He was signed by the UFC after fighting in the Japanese promotion DEEP and in the South Korean promotion Spirit MC.
Kim is also prominent as a regular cast member in variety shows Master in the House, DoReMi Market, The Return of Superman, and Strong Heart.
Contents
Early life
Kim was born in Suwon, South Korea. He is of the Gimhae Kim clan. He moved to Daejeon when he was a primary school student, where he took up Inline speed skating. He began training in Judo when he was 14 years old, and trained in Taekwondo and Hapkido together in his late teens for his interest in martial arts. And later Kim began to practice Judo professionally at Yong-In University, which led him to reignite his MMA career. Kim began training at Wajyutsu Keisyukai, a renowned Japanese gym frequented by a number of top Japanese fighters. As one of the largest members of the gym, Kim became a regular sparring partner of middleweight Yushin Okami. At this time he competed in Sambo. He completed his mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in 2001. Later he became a fighter for Spirit MC, but retired in 2004 for economic reasons. He mentioned during Law of the Jungle that he spent four months in Auckland, New Zealand working in 3 concurrent part-time roles (kitchenhand and sashimi chef/poissonnier, bricklayer and construction labourer). His job situation didn’t improve upon returning to Korea until his parents finally allowed him to train again. He has trained with Busan Team MAD since 2007. He teaches self defence classes. One of his students is Hani of Korean girl group EXID.
Career
Filmography
He is a regular guest on Korean variety and talk shows. He has appeared on more than seventy TV shows since 2010. On June 16, 2013, he featured as the 'Hulk' on Running Man episode 150 (SBS Sunday night show). On that episode he led the character that transformed into Hulk mode in Running Man Avengers. On March 22, 2015, Kim reappeared on Running Man in episode 239 as a guest. Kim was also featured along with fellow UFC fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama in the Korean boy band MYNAME's dramatic music video for their single "Baby I'm Sorry". On June 26, 2016, Kim returned as a guest on Running Man in episode 305. Kim is regular cast member of Great Escape Season 1 of 2018 and Season 2 of 2019. In 2019, he guest-starred on Not the Person You Used To Know, where he appeared as one of the friends of Hani of EXID.
In September 2018, he announced his marriage to Song Ha-ryul on several variety shows, and then revealed her pregnancy on the February 14, 2019, episode of Amazing Saturday.
Early career
Kim gained recognition after signing with the Japanese DEEP organization, earning a succession of wins before knocking out DEEP welterweight champion Hidehiko Hasegawa in a non-title bout in 2007. Kim and Hasegawa later fought to a controversial draw in a title fight at DEEP 32nd Impact, leaving defending champion Hasegawa with the title. Kim departed from DEEP to sign a contract with PRIDE Fighting Championships, but the UFC purchased and dismantled PRIDE before Kim could fight in the organization. Kim's performances attracted the attention of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) talent scouts, who offered him a contract. However, because the WEC is not televised in Korea, Kim's management pushed for and received a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which airs on Korean cable television.
Kim's original nickname is "Stun Gun", then a lot of Korean fans started calling him "Maemi", which means Cicada in Korean. The nickname was given to Kim from his fighting style where he likes to take his opponents to the ground, grapple with them and never let them escape like a Cicada on a tree.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kim made his UFC debut at UFC 84 against Jason Tan, methodically breaking down his opponent and ultimately winning by technical knockout in the third round. With his performance and victory, Kim became the actual first fighter from South Korea to fight in the UFC, although both UFC and the media at times mistakenly label the former American fighter, Joe Son, as the first Korean UFC fighter, most likely because of Son's ethnicity. Kim's appearance drew considerable attention in South Korea, since his UFC debut was in 2008, which was five years after when MMA was introduced and popularized in South Korea by Spirit MC, the country's pioneering MMA organization. One week before the event, a prime time, hour-long special about Kim was aired on Korean television. Though Kim's bout did not air on the UFC pay-per-view, it aired live on Korean television, and was then replayed twice more before the regular event coverage resumed.
He made his second octagon appearance at UFC 88, capturing a split decision over The Ultimate Fighter 7 alumnus Matt Brown. During this fight, Kim's conditioning was very poor due to jet lag, and visa problems prevented him from bringing a coach. In the first round, Kim threatened Brown with a standing rear-naked choke and took Brown's back on numerous occasions but became exhausted in the second. In the third, Kim used some effective ground-and-pound and cut Brown with an elbow. All three judges scored the bout 29–28, two in Kim's favor and one in Brown's favor. The decision was contested by the crowd in attendance with noticeable booing.
Kim returned to the octagon in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, 2009, as he faced off against fellow judo practitioner Karo Parisyan at UFC 94. With Frank Mir in his corner who served as his boxing coach prior to the fight. Kim lost to Parisyan on split decision although fans in attendance booed the decision, and former UFC champions Matt Hughes, Randy Couture and UFC president Dana White commented that they thought Kim won the fight. Afterwards, however, Parisyan tested positive for three banned pain killers: Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone and Oxymorphone, leading the Nevada Athletic Commission to declare the match a No Contest, and a nine month suspensuon for Parisyan. Later, on March 5, 2009, Kim signed a four fight extension with the UFC.
Kim defeated T. J. Grant at UFC 100, winning by a unanimous decision, threatening with a guillotine choke midway through the second round. He was scheduled to fight Dan Hardy on November 14, 2009, at UFC 105, but was forced to withdraw due to ligament injuries in his right knee incurred while sparring with Kazuhiro Nakamura and was subsequently replaced on the card by Mike Swick.
Championships and accomplishments
Grappling
2013 ADCC Korea 88 kg: 1st place
Entertainment
2018 6th Korean Art And Cultural Awards - Sportainer
2019 Korea First Brand Awards - Sportainer
2020 Brand Of The Year Awards - Sportainer
2020 2020 SBS Entertainment Awards - Excellence Award in Show/Variety Category
