South Korean kickboxing star Seo Hee Ham won her third fight in a ten-day span on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Making a successful defence of her CMA KPW Women’s Lightweight Championship, Ham defeated Anna Saito via Unanimous Decision under mixed martial arts rules at Gladiator 15: “GI 2.”
The victory moved the 23-year-old Ham’s MMA record to 8-4. She previously defeated Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka at DEEP: “52 Impact” on February 25th, then stopped MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita under kickboxing rules at Gladiator 14 just two days later. Ham turns 24 years old on March 8th.
Ham’s technical striking was too much for Saito on Sunday, as she battered her shorter opponent with crisp punches and a variety of kicks across two five-minute rounds. Already one of the premier female strikers in MMA, Ham has sharpened her skills in numerous kickboxing bouts – including two against male opponents – over the past eight months.
At “52 Impact,” Ham employed a similar strategy and handily outstruck Ishioka in a rematch from their first meeting three years ago. Both bouts with Ishioka ended in lopsided Unanimous Decisions for Ham, as she stayed a step ahead of the often wild strikes from the karate practitioner. Not wasting any time, Ham stepped back into the ring two days later at Gladiator 14 on February 27th and defeated Yabushita by TKO at 0:55 of the second round.
The three quick victories have put Ham back on track after she was defeated in the finals of the Jewels Lightweight Queen Tournament in December. Ham decisioned Mai Ichii and another Jewels postergirl, Mika “Future Princess” Nagano, to advance to the finals, but suffered a decisive loss to reigning Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki.
While Ham had members of her CMA Korea team in her corner for both December Jewels bouts, she reportedly travelled to Japan alone for the recent three-fight tour. She may compete again for Jewels and Gladiator later this year, but she is first expected to return home to South Korea to celebrate her trio of victories and her 24th birthday on Tuesday.
(Photo Credit: Jewels blog)