SSABI MMA
SSABI MMA (Ssabi Gym) is a long-running South Korean mixed martial arts team based in Seoul, historically associated with the Hongdae/Hapjeong area.
The gym has developed a reputation for combining professional MMA training with an accessible multi-discipline program for recreational students.
Training at SSABI incorporates MMA, boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, No-Gi grappling, and strength and conditioning, allowing fighters to develop within a fully integrated system rather than relying on a single martial arts base. Published schedules have also shown separate training periods for professional fighters alongside regular striking and grappling classes.
SSABI has maintained a significant presence in the Korean MMA scene, producing and developing fighters who have competed across promotions including ROAD FC, Black Combat, MAX FC, and other domestic organizations. Tapology’s team database connects SSABI MMA with a large roster of professional and amateur competitors across multiple generations.
The team has also expanded beyond its original Seoul base through affiliated and satellite gyms. Tapology currently identifies SSABI MMA Gwangju as a direct affiliate, while the broader team network has historically included fighters and gyms representing SSABI in other regions of South Korea.
Coaching Staff
Chang Sub Lee — Founder / Head Director
Chang Sub Lee is identified by SSABI’s current team materials as the founder and head director of Ssabi Gym, overseeing the broader development of the gym and its multidisciplinary martial arts program.
SSABI’s modern structure emphasizes a coaching-team approach, with specialists responsible for different components of MMA rather than requiring a single instructor to handle every discipline.
Jae Sun Lee — Longtime MMA Director / Head Coach
Jae Sun Lee is one of the most important figures in SSABI MMA’s competitive history. A first-generation Korean MMA fighter, Lee competed during the early development of the sport in South Korea and finished runner-up in the Spirit MC 2 middleweight tournament.
He later became best known as a coach and strategist. Korean media repeatedly identified Lee as the director of SSABI MMA, where he coached professional fighters including Hyung Geun Park, Chan Soo Park, Jung Hyun Lee, and Seo Woo Jin.
Lee’s background as an early-generation competitor helped establish SSABI as a fighter-development gym capable of preparing athletes across striking, wrestling, grappling, and MMA-specific competition.
Professor Choi — Grappling / No-Gi Coach
Professor Choi has been an important figure in SSABI MMA’s grappling program and is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt recognized for his work in No-Gi grappling and leg locks.
He is particularly associated with the development of the Choimoplata System, as well as a technical approach built around angles, space management, frames, submissions, and leg-lock entries.
Choi has more than a decade of teaching experience and has taught internationally, with seminar material describing him as one of the pioneers of No-Gi and leg-lock development in South Korea. His coaching has helped give SSABI a specialized submission-grappling component alongside the team’s established MMA program.
Team History
SSABI MMA emerged during the growth of South Korea’s modern MMA scene and became established as one of Seoul’s recognizable professional fight teams.
By the mid-to-late 2010s, SSABI fighters were regularly appearing in major Korean promotions. Seo Woo Jin, for example, represented the team during her ROAD FC debut in 2017, with Jae Sun Lee and Hyung Geun Park involved in preparing her for competition.
The team became particularly visible through fighters with distinctive personalities and aggressive fighting styles. Hyung Geun Park, one of SSABI’s better-known representatives, competed extensively in ROAD FC and helped expand the team’s profile. By 2019, plans were already being discussed for Park to establish an SSABI-affiliated location of his own.
SSABI also demonstrated its willingness to compete outside conventional MMA. In 2018, the team entered fighters into MAX FC kickboxing, with Korean combat-sports media at the time describing SSABI alongside Korean Top Team and Team MAD as one of the country’s prominent MMA teams.
During the ROAD FC/ARC period, another generation began emerging from the gym. Fighters such as Chan Soo Park and Jung Hyun Lee represented SSABI in nationally visible matchups, continuing the team’s reputation for developing competitors rather than operating solely as a recreational martial arts academy.
That fighter-development pipeline has continued into the current generation. Tapology’s SSABI MMA roster contains dozens of professional and amateur fighters associated with the team, including competitors such as Yun Jae Jung, Sung Jun Park, Jun Young Lee, Sung Bin Kim, Sung Kwan Park, Hwi Jae Lee, Shin Woo Lee, Ji Hoon Nam, and In Gi Kim, among others.
Today, SSABI MMA represents both sides of the Korean martial arts gym model: a competitive fight team developing professional and amateur athletes and a large multidisciplinary academy serving everyday students. Its combination of striking, wrestling, traditional BJJ, modern No-Gi grappling, leg locks, conditioning, and MMA has allowed the SSABI name to remain part of the Korean combat-sports landscape across multiple generations.
