Emi Fujino, Ji Yeon Kim Victorious At Road FC 23 In SeoulVeteran strawweight contender Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino picked up her third straight victory tonight at Road Fighting Championship 23 in Seoul, South Korea. Fujino edged out 18-year-old late-replacement opponent Jeong Eun Park by Majority Decision in a closely-contested two-round bout.

Also on the card, bantamweight prospect Ji Yeon Kim kept her undefeated record intact with a second-round submission victory over Hatice “The Turkish Delight” Ozyurt in a 139-pound catchweight bout. Kim overcame Ozyurt’s striking power on the feet and finished her with an armbar.

 

Fujino (16-8-0) was initially set to face off against popular South Korean striker Hyo Kyung Song on tonight’s card, but Song was forced to withdraw from the event due to an injury and was replaced by the debuting Park (0-1-0), who put forth an excellent showing in her short-notice pro MMA debut.

In the opening round, Fujino countered an early uppercut from Park by landing a right hook and a stiff jab that snapped her young opponent’s head back. Park circled and threw kicks from a distance. A pair of hard right hands landed for Park and Fujino clinched against the fence, but Park broke free and she landed more right hands. Big punches were exchanged and Fujino held Park against the cage once more. The fighters were separated and Fujino countered a spinning back kick by dragging Park to the mat. She threatened with a rear-naked choke, but Park defended well and made it to the bell.

Both fighters landed quick one-twos in the opening minute of the second and final round. Fujino pressed forward aggressively with punches and Park answered back with a flurry. Time was called after Fujino was poked in the right eye, but action resumed soon after and another exchange of power punches followed. Fujino clinched against the cage until the referee called for a break. Late in the round, she scored a key takedown into half-guard and landed short punches from the top. Park got back to full guard and attempted an armbar, but Fujino punched her way free before time expired.

One judge scored the competitive fight even at 19-19, while the remaining two both had it 20-18 for Fujino. The 11-year veteran has won three straight fights since dropping a five-round decision to WSOF champ Jessica “Jag” Aguilar. In spite of her defeat tonight, Park clearly has great potential and strong technical skills, and she will likely become a staple of Road FC cards in the future.

Winner: Emi Fujino by Majority Decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) after two rounds. She improves to 16-8-0.

 

Kim (3-0-2), who is already slated to compete for Deep Jewels title gold this summer, ran her winning streak to three with an impressive second-round submission victory tonight. She clinched and held Ozyurt (1-3-0) against the cage in round one, and eventually secured a takedown into back control. Kim punched to the head and body and looked to set up a rear-naked choke, which forced Ozyurt to roll over. Kim mounted her and landed hard punches, then took Ozyurt’s back again before the bell.

Ozyurt’s best success in the fight came early in round two when she stunned Kim with a flurry to begin the round. She threw Kim to the mat, but Kim immediately reversed into top position. Within seconds, Kim had mounted Ozyurt and she scored with punches and hammerfists from the top. Ozyurt held her hands up to defend, which allowed Kim to drop back with an armbar that forced Ozyurt to submit.

Since opening her career with a pair of Draws against top Japanese star Shizuka Sugiyama and Deep Jewels Middleweight Champion Takayo Hashi, Kim has won three straight fights. She will next face Hashi in a rematch for the champion’s 135-pound Deep Jewels title at Deep Jewels 9 in August.

Winner: Ji Yeon Kim by Submission (Armbar) at 1:14 of round two. She improves to 3-0-2.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Deep Jewels)