ROAD Fighting Championship 053 will take place on May 18, 2019. It will be the first ever professional Mixed Martial Arts event on the famous Jeju Island in South Korea. The Lightweight Title Fight between Champion Kwon A-Sol and $1 Million Tournament winner Mansour Barnaoui Kickboxing will be the main event, and Aorigele returns to take on legend Jérôme Le Banner.
The South Korean island of Jeju is known as a premier vacation destination for its beach resorts and volcanic geography. On May 18, ROAD FC will make the first MMA event in the island city. The Lightweight Championship will mark the historic event at the Halla Gymnasium, and the preliminary card will feature the up and coming martial arts talent of Jeju.
ROAD FC Lightweight Championship
ROAD FC Lightweight Champion Kwon A-Sol (21-10, Team Korea MMA) will take on $1 Million Tournament winner Mansour Barnaoui (18-4, Team Magnum/TriStar Gym). Kwon has been one of the most dominant Korean fighters and claimed his belt in 2014. Barnaoui is a former M-1 and BAMMA Champion who won many first round finishes in the Tournament before finishing fellow finalist Shamil Zavurov with a beautiful flying knee.
The knock out power of Lightweight Champion Kwon A-Sol and the all-around technical brilliance of Barnaoui will make for an incredible fight for the ROAD FC Lightweight belt, and the $1 Million prize.
Aorigele vs Jérôme Le Banner
Aorigele make a remarkable start to his career in ROAD FC at just over 20 years old. He scored impressive first round knockouts over Bob Sapp, Yusuke Kawaguchi, and Kazuyuki Fujita. Jérôme Le Banner is one of the most recognizable figures in the world of kickboxing, having won multiple K-1, ISKA, and WKN titles during almost three decades of fighting under striking rules. At ROAD FC 053, this match between the strength of youth and the power of experience will clash in this exciting match.
ROAD FC 053
Firefighter Fighter Shin Dong-Guk (2-1, ROAD Gym Wonju) will rematch Tamotsu Hayashi (6-4, Honey Trap). In their first meeting at ROAD FC 048, they were on their way to delivering the fight of the night when Shin’s low blows stopped Hayashi from being able to continue. There was a lot of heat between the two, so expect the do-over to be a fast one.
Park Hyun-Geun (3-3-2, Ssabi MMA) and Yang Ji-Ho (0-1, ROAD Gym Gangnam MMA) were originally to meet at ROAD FC 051XX but Yang was injured. Park was able to return with a great win over Shin Seung-Min after back to back losses to a “Crying Fist” rival, and now he faces another reality show opponent: Yang was highly rated on “Fearless Guys”, and training under former ROAD FC Champion Lee Yun-Jun, he hopes to make his promotional debut even more spectacular.
Two 90kg prospects will face off, Lim Dong-Hwan (3-3, Team Strong Wolf) versus Kim Tae-In (1-0, ROAD Jim Gangnam MMA). Lim won a bronze medal at the 2013 Asian Sambo Championships and gained MMA experience in the Central League and Young Guns, and put himself on the map with a brilliant KO of Park Jung-Kyo. Kim Tae-In is a champion amateur boxer with 15 wins to his credit, and in his ROAD FC debut, won his first victory by defeating slugger Kim Ji-Hoon. Strikers who open up ROAD FC cards always deliver a good show.
New Wave MMA ROAD FC is the stage where legends shine, rookies thrill, and epic battles are waged that determine the future of MMA. From the pageantry of the grand entrance to the final crunch of the KO, ROAD FC showcases the very best of Mixed Martial Arts sports and entertainment. As we say in Korea, “Fighting!”
Event: ROAD Fighting Championship 053
Date: May 18, 2019
Venue: Halla Gymnasium
City: Jeju Island, South Korea
ROAD FC $1 Million Lightweight Championship
Kwon A-Sol vs Mansour Barnaoui
Openweight Match
Aorigele vs Jérôme Le Banner
Lightweight Match
Tamotsu Hayashi vs Shin Dong-Guk
Featherweight Match
Park Hyun-Geun vs Yang Ji-Ho
90kg Catchweight Match
Lim Dong-Hwan vs Kim Tae-In
Young Guns 42
Bantamweight Match
Park Seok-Han vs Kubo Kenta
Flyweight Match
Go Gi-Won vs Hwang Chang-Hwan
Welterweight Match
Yoon Tae-Young vs Lim Byeong-Ha
Women’s Bantamweight Match
Yang Hee-Jo vs Rowan Pilger
68kg Catchweight Match
Shin Ji-Seung vs Ji Young-Min
