Denis Kang

From CageWiki

1 Hard Times
2 Unstoppable
- 2.1 SPIRIT MC
- 2.2 PRIDE Bushido
3 Recent Career
4 Mixed martial arts record
5 Gallery
6 External links

Hard Times

Denis Kang (September 17, 1977) made his professional MMA debut on August 2, 1998, with a Rear Naked Choke victory that took a mere 0:15. It was the first of three wins in a row, all by stoppage. Kang then experienced a rocky period, his first fifteen bouts yielding a decidedly craptastic record of 7-7-0-1.

Unstoppable

Recovering from two consecutive choke-out losses, to Joe Doerkson and Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Denis Kang then went on a three and a half year tear; winning twenty-one matches without a single loss! Beginning with an April, 2004, Rear Naked Choke victory over Chris Peak, Denis improved to 12-7-1-1 after winning five back to back matches.

SPIRIT MC

During 2004 Denis fought in seven matches for the Korean promotion Spirit Martial Challenge. Including a spectacular performance at Spirit MC 5 2005 GP Unlimited where he beat Junpei Hamada by Armbar, submitted Jae Young Kim with a choke, and knocked out Jin Ho Yang - all in the same night! Remarkably, Kang spent a combined total of just 5:02 in the ring that evening.

Kang's perfect record in the organization eventually earned him their Heavyweight (176lb) Championship. He recently scored a first round KO when he met Jae Young Kim in a successful defense of his title.

PRIDE Bushido

In early 2005 Denis made his first appearance in PRIDE - Bushido, where he used an Armbar to force his opponent, Takahiro Oba, into submission. After cruising to an unblemished 6-0 and the league, beating tough competitors such as Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Akihiro Gono, Kang faced his hardest foe to date, highly-ranked Kazuo Misaki. Sadly for Denis, his efforts were nto enough to sway all the judges, and Misaki won a split decision.

Recent Career

After the collapse of PRIDE, Kang picked up a win in SPIRIT MC, then went back to Japan to face Yoshihiro Akiyama in K-1 competition. Akiyama knocked Denis out in the first round. Denis then entered the DREAM Middleweight GP, but was bounced from the tourney's in the opening bracket by eventual victor Gegard Mousasi.

Despite these setbacks, the future looks bright for Denis Kang; he's now riding a two fight win streak, both of which he ended with first round knockouts, and he has just signed a four fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.