“Ottogi” Dae Hwan Kim

Status: Former ONE Athlete

KAMMA Bantamweight Champion Dae Hwan Kim was born in a small farming town in the southern part of South Korea, but moved to Seoul when he was in high school. He was a gifted athlete even as a youth, winning a national gold medal in taekwondo, a discipline in which he now holds a fourth-degree black belt.

Upon completing his mandatory national military service, Kim began training to compete in mixed martial arts at his brother’s martial arts dojo. He soon made his cage debut in 2008 at the age of 21, entering and winning a one-night, eight-man tournament. He went on to amass an undefeated streak of eight wins in regional Korean promotions, which earned him a ONE Championship contract in 2013.

After two impressive wins, Kim challenged reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes for his belt, but was ultimately unsuccessful, suffering the first loss of his career in the process. He has since rebounded with several impressive stoppage wins, and he is as determined as ever to make another run at the coveted World Title.