In the main event of ROAD FC 54, Yang Hae-Jun finished La In-Jae to become the new middleweight champion. The event took place from Wonju, South Korea.
Champion La In-Jae and challenger Yang Hae-Jun engaged in a toe-to-toe slugfest peppered with grueling clinch work throughout a tough fight round. Yang was able to take the back in the second and controlled most of the round from that position. La was visibly exhausted and couldn’t fight him off, so Yang capitalized with ground and pound until the referee called it off. Yang Hae-Jun became the new champion.
In the co-main event, Kim Se-Young and Evgeniy Ryazanov gave a back and forth first round full of fun kicks and grueling takedowns. In the second, Kim was able to secure a back mount that Ryazanov reversed, but in the third Kim continued to ragdoll him. At the bell, Kim had his hand raised from a hard-fought scorecard victory.
Middleweight newcomer Choi Won-Jun stunned the crowd when his very first punch landed perfectly on Hwang In-Su, knocking him down, and causing the referee to jump in. Choi ruined Hwang’s undefeated record, and made one of his own: the fastest KO (5 seconds) in ROAD FC history.
Yoo Jae-Nam came out relentless against Kim Tae-Gyun and it paid off. Yoo was able to get the takedown, work to the back, and secure a back choke for the tap and win.
The openweight fight between Shim Gun-Oh and Ryu Ki-Hoon was short and sweet. The two men blasted each other right from the bell, and it was Ryu who was the first to fall. The referee waived it off, giving Shim a TKO victory.
In the main cart opening bantamweight match, Jang Ik-Hwan came out swinging for a knock out, but Jung Sang-Jin was durable and wouldn’t go down. Jang came away with the deserved unanimous decision.
Park Jeong-Eun gave late notice rookie Kim Eun-Hye a tough debut by waiting out her kickboxing skills and choking her out in the first round with an arm triangle.
Park Chan-Soo displayed aggressive striking and grappling, but Oh Du-Seok worked in his strong Thai clinch and landed many hard shots, getting the split decision victory.
Park Jae-Seong showcased his rangy kicks, but ultimately he beat Kim Young-Han with a guillotine submission.
Jang Jung-Hyuk and Choi Woo-Hyuk each landed punches and kicks that did damage, and although Jang was bloodied the most, he got the scorecards decision with help from a yellow card against Choi.
Rowan Pilger made quick work of Park Ha-Jeong by taking her down and tying her up, getting a tap out to an armbar, and announced herself as a new threat in the women’s bantamweight division.
In the opening match, Kim Jin-Kuk and Park Sung-Jun were extremely aggressive and entertaining, and Kim narrowly one the split decision after punches in bunches.
Results from ROAD FC 54:
Yang Hae-Jun def La In-Jae by TKO, R2 4:00
Kim Se-Young def Evgeniy Ryazanov by Unanimous Decision
Choi Won-Jun def Hwang In-Su by TKO, R1 0:05
Yoo Jae-Nam def Kim Tae-Gyun by Submission, guillotine, R1 3:05
Shim Gun-Oh def Ryu Ki-Hoon by TKO, R1 0:56
Jang Ik-Hwan def Jung Sang-Jin by Unanimous Decision
Park Jeong-Eun def Kim Eun-Hye by Submission, arm triangle, R1 2:51
Oh Du-Seok def Park Chan-Soo by Split Decision
Park Jae-Seong def Kim Young-Han by Submission, guillotine, R2 2:42
Jang Jung-Hyuk def Choi Woo-Hyuk by Unanimous Decision
Rowan Pilger def Park Ha-Jeong by Submission, modified armbar, R1
Park Sung-Jun def Kim Jin-Kuk by Split Decision