“It was a great effort!” - Korean Zombie, Ham Seo Hee, pros give Kwon Won Il his due respect after world title bid at ONE 170
Despite suffering another setback at the hands of Fabricio Andrade, Kwon Won Il earned admiration for his valiant effort.
The South Korean standout once again fell short in his quest to dethrone the Brazilian knockout artist in their rematch for the ONE bantamweight MMA world championship at ONE 170. The bout took place last Friday, Jan. 24, inside a sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
After his heartbreaking defeat, Kwon posted on Instagram to express his disappointment and apologize for failing to win the world championship.
Writing in his native tongue, he shared:
"It’s a tough loss. No excuses — my opponent was strong. I missed a lot. I’m sorry to those who cheered for me. Thank you for your support."
The show of humility was met with an outpouring of encouragement from fellow fighters, including Korean MMA legend 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung, as well as Ham Seo Hee and Reece McLaren.
Fans also flooded the comments with messages of support, lifting Kwon’s spirits after a crushing defeat:
For Kwon, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. This encounter was his chance at redemption after suffering a brutal defeat to Andrade nearly three years ago. Unfortunately, history repeated itself at ONE 170.
From the opening bell, Andrade wasted no time asserting his dominance. The reigning champion overwhelmed Kwon with relentless pressure, ultimately finishing the fight in just 42 seconds.
A devastating left hook to the body sent Kwon crumbling to the canvas, and Andrade capitalized with a ferocious ground-and-pound assault to force the referee to call a halt to the contest.
Kwon Won Il out, Stephen Loman in
As Kwon Won Il returns to the drawing board, another challenger has stepped up to take a crack at Fabricio Andrade’s throne. During his post-fight interview, Andrade name-dropped Stephen Loman, the No. 2-ranked bantamweight MMA contender hungry for his shot at the title.
It didn’t take long for Loman to respond with a challenge of his own, releasing a video statement through the Lions Nation MMA page on Facebook:
"You proved once again why you’re the champion, but you and I both know there’s one challenge you haven’t faced yet. And that’s me!"
With Andrade fresh off another dominant performance and a new contender making his case, the division just got even more intriguing.