South Korea’s first national MMA team made its Asian Games debut at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with Bo Mi Lee earning the country’s historic first medal in the sport.
South Korean MMA entered a new era at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
For the first time, South Korea assembled a national mixed martial arts team for the Asian Games, sending three athletes to Japan as MMA made its debut on the official competition program. The historic appearance ended with an equally historic result, as Bo Mi Lee captured bronze to become South Korea’s first Asian Games medalist in MMA.
South Korea’s inaugural national team featured Bo Mi Lee in the women’s Modern 54kg division alongside ROAD FC champion Tae Young Yoon and 20-year-old prospect Eun Seok Choi. The team was led by head coach Geum Cheon Kim, with former ROAD FC champion A Sol Kwon serving as senior coach.
For a sport that has developed largely through professional promotions and individual gyms in South Korea, the creation of a national team represented something different: MMA athletes competing under the Korean flag within the Asian Games framework.
Bo Mi Lee Makes Korean MMA History
Bo Mi Lee secured South Korea’s first Asian Games MMA medal in the women’s Modern 54kg division at the Nagoya Inae Sports Center on September 21.
The 27-year-old entered the tournament as one of Korea’s most accomplished amateur MMA competitors, carrying a No. 4 world ranking in her weight class and previous success at the Asian Championships.
Lee advanced through the quarterfinals with a 2-1 decision victory over Vietnam’s Roti Poong, guaranteeing herself at least a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals.
Her run, however, came to a painful end against Bahrain representative Dianna Fogosyan.
Lee suffered a serious injury to her left shoulder after falling while defending an attack during the semifinal. With Lee unable to safely continue, the Korean coaching staff threw in the towel, ending the contest.
Because both losing semifinalists receive bronze medals in Asian Games MMA competition, Lee finished the tournament on the podium.
She was transported to a hospital by ambulance following the bout due to the severity of the injury.
The circumstances made the medal bittersweet, but they did not diminish its historical significance.
Bo Mi Lee is now South Korea’s first Asian Games MMA medalist.
A Long Road to the Podium
Lee’s medal also continued a resurgence in a career that she had once considered walking away from.
She won silver at the 2024 Asian MMA Championships before returning to capture bronze at the continental competition in 2026. Those performances established Lee among the leading competitors in her division heading into Aichi-Nagoya.
At one point, however, Lee considered ending her competitive career.
Instead, she decided to give herself one more opportunity.
That decision ultimately carried her all the way to an Asian Games podium.
From contemplating retirement to representing South Korea at the first Asian Games to officially feature MMA, Lee’s bronze medal now gives her a permanent place in the early history of the sport within major international multi-sport competition.
Tae Young Yoon and Eun Seok Choi Exit in Quarterfinals
South Korea’s two male representatives saw their Asian Games runs end one round earlier.
Tae Young Yoon and Eun Seok Choi were both eliminated in the quarterfinals on September 20, losing their respective bouts by unanimous decision.
Yoon entered the competition as an established professional and current ROAD FC champion, bringing championship-level experience to South Korea’s first national MMA team.
Choi represented a different generation of Korean MMA.
At just 20 years old, Eun Seok Choi has already built a reputation as one of the country’s emerging prospects after beginning his professional career while still in high school.
Neither reached the medal rounds, but both became part of the first group of fighters to officially represent South Korea in MMA at the Asian Games.
More Than One Bronze Medal
South Korea leaves Aichi-Nagoya with one bronze medal, but the significance of the tournament extends beyond the medal count.
Until now, Korean MMA has largely been defined by professional organizations, individual fighters and gyms producing athletes capable of competing internationally.
The Asian Games introduced something entirely different.
For the first time, there was a South Korean national MMA team.
There were national-team coaches. There were athletes competing for Korea within a major multi-sport event. And there was an MMA medal officially added to South Korea’s Asian Games record.
The 2026 Games also represent another step in MMA’s continuing effort to establish itself within the international amateur sports structure. Its inclusion in Aichi-Nagoya placed the sport on one of Asia’s largest competitive stages and gave national federations an opportunity to develop athletes within a country-based system rather than exclusively through professional promotions.
For South Korea, that process has now officially begun.
Geum Cheon Kim, A Sol Kwon, Bo Mi Lee, Tae Young Yoon and Eun Seok Choi will forever make up the country’s first Asian Games MMA team.
And Bo Mi Lee will forever hold another distinction.
She was the first to bring an Asian Games MMA medal home to South Korea.
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