Denis Kang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Denis Kang | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Super Korean |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg) |
| Born | September 17, 1977 |
| Town of birth | Saint-Pierre and Miquelon |
| Fighting style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 15 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Denis Kang | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: |
데니스 강
|
| Hanja: |
데니스 姜
|
| Revised Romanization: | Deniseu Gang |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Tenisŭ Kang |
Denis Kang (September 17, 1977) is a French-Korean mixed martial artist who grew up in Canada. He currently competes in PRIDE Fighting Championships and has a professional MMA record of 26-8-1 as of November 5, 2006. Kang is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, originally trained by Marcus Soares. He is best known for his well rounded style of fighting, utilizing both submissions and striking equally.
[edit] Biography
Denis Kang was born on the French island of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to a Korean father and French mother. He and his family relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1988. He has a younger brother Julian, who is a model.
[edit] MMA career
Denis Kang's MMA career began in 1998 at the Ultimate Warrior Challenge in Vancouver, Canada. Kang was successful in his debut fight, winning by Rear Naked Choke Submission over Eric Harcrow. Unfortunately, the majority of his early fighting career would progress on a rocky path. Kang would go on to win his next 2 fights before going 2 - 5 over his next 8 with one no contest against Dennis Hallman. He would go 7-7 with one NC in his first 15 fights, with a few convincing defeats. It was at this time that Kang completely dedicated himself to mixed martial arts and began progressing into a complete fighter. He was a student of Professor Marcus Soares (Carlson Gracie Team) and his training partners have included several notables, including Stephan Kesting of Grapplearts.com with whom he has made instructional videos that can be found on his official website.
After winning 5 of his next 6 fights, Kang signed a contract with SPIRIT MC, an upstart MMA organization in South Korea. Denis saw this not only as a financial opportunity, but also as a chance to see his father again. Denis went 5-0 in Korea and was crowned the Spirit MC Heavyweight Champion. Following this, Denis relocated to Florida and joined the American Top Team.
It was at this time that Kang caught the attention of the PRIDE Fighting Championships. Kang signed a contract with PRIDE and made his PRIDE debut at Bushido 6, where he defeated his Japanese opponent Takahiro Oba via an armbar at 4:24 of round one. Under the Korean banner, Denis went on to win his next two fights in PRIDE, with a victory coming over Englishman Mark Weir at Bushido 10. In between this fight and his next in Pride, Denis fought American Albert Basconcelles and knocked him out within 12 seconds of the opening bell. At Bushido 11, Denis Kang continued his winning streak by knocking out Chute Boxe member Murilo "Ninja" Rua in 15 seconds in the first round of the PRIDE Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix (middleweight under NSAC weight guidelines). At Bushido 12 (08/25/2006), Denis dominated and submitted Armenian Amar Suloev via rear naked choke to advance to the semi-final round of the Welterweight Grand Prix. With this win, Kang was then 18-0-1 in his last 19 contests. However, after advancing through the semi-final round of the Bushido tournament and beating Akihiro Gono on November 5, 2006 he was defeated by Kazuo Misaki in the final at Bushido 13. During the tournament Kang tore his biceps[1].
