Overview
Yong Wan Jung is a South Korean lightweight competing primarily in Black Combat, where he has quietly developed into one of the more interesting fighters to emerge from the promotion’s Champions League system.
Known by the nickname “Groot,” Jung owns a 5–2 professional MMA record and has won four consecutive fights since suffering back-to-back stoppage losses early in his career. His record is split between two knockout/TKO victories and three unanimous decisions, giving him a 40 percent finishing rate.
At 178 cm, Yong Wan Jung has good size for the Korean lightweight division and represents Cube MMA. His recent run has been almost entirely built inside Black Combat, where he has gone 4–1 across five appearances.
What makes Yong Wan Jung particularly intriguing is that his combat-sports background appears to extend beyond MMA. Korean boxing records list a Yong Wan Jung with the same 178 cm height and a March 26, 1997 birth date who competed professionally as an orthodox boxer before Jung’s MMA debut. That record shows four professional boxing bouts between 2019 and 2020, finishing 2–1–1 with one TKO. The biographical details strongly indicate this is the same fighter, although the available MMA databases do not explicitly cross-reference the boxing record.
Early Life & Background
Public information about Yong Wan Jung’s childhood, education and introduction to martial arts remains limited.
Available Korean records list him as born March 26, 1997, in South Korea. Before establishing himself in MMA, Jung appears to have pursued professional boxing. Korean Boxing Member records list him at 178 cm, fighting from an orthodox stance and representing The One Boxing Gym during that period.
His recorded professional boxing debut came on July 29, 2019, when he defeated Hyo Jae Yoon by four-round decision. He later drew with Tae Kwang Park in January 2020 and scored a third-round TKO over No Jin Lee in November 2020. His listed professional boxing record stands at 2–1–1 with one knockout.
Yong Wan Jung was also gaining experience in MMA around this period. Tapology records an amateur featherweight bout against Jun Taek Jung in June 2019, which Jung lost by first-round guillotine choke.
By 2021, Jung had transitioned into professional MMA and was competing at lightweight.
Interestingly, combat sports also run in the family. Korean records identify Black Combat featherweight Yong Soo Jung (“Hitman”) as his younger brother.
Fighting Style
Yong Wan Jung’s boxing background is the clearest foundation of his MMA game.
He is fundamentally a striker-first lightweight, and his career statistics reinforce that assessment: all five of his professional victories have come either by KO/TKO or decision, with no submission victories on his record.
Rather than being purely a knockout hunter, however, Yong Wan Jung has demonstrated the ability to fight through complete rounds and win minutes. His first three professional victories all came by unanimous decision. That experience has become an important part of his development because it shows he can maintain enough technical discipline and output to consistently win rounds rather than relying entirely on his punching power.
The more recent version of Yong Wan Jung has become considerably more dangerous as a finisher.
After three consecutive decision victories to begin the winning portions of his career, Jung stopped Jung Han Lee in the second round in June 2025 before stopping Ji Soo Choi in the third round in September. Both finishes came through striking, with his victory over Choi officially recorded as punches and soccer kicks.
That progression is significant. Earlier in his MMA career, Jung’s boxing experience gave him a technical striking base, but his recent performances suggest he is becoming better at converting that striking advantage into MMA-specific finishes.
There is still a question surrounding his defensive durability. Both of Jung’s professional losses came by first-round TKO: Young Hoon Lee stopped him in 49 seconds in January 2022, while Gyu Jun Cho stopped him with a right hook and follow-up punches just 24 seconds into their October 2022 meeting.
Since the Cho loss, however, Jung has not lost a fight.
Professional Career
MMA Debut — vs. Sung Hoon Jung
Yong Wan Jung made his professional MMA debut at GFC 05 on May 1, 2021, defeating Sung Hoon Jung by unanimous decision after two rounds.
It was a successful introduction to professional MMA and established the pattern that would characterize much of his early success: using his striking and overall control to win rounds rather than forcing an early finish.
Early Setbacks
Yong Wan Jung’s momentum was interrupted in his next two appearances.
On January 7, 2022, he faced Young Hoon Lee at Road to Brave: Korea in Daegu. Lee stopped Jung by TKO just 49 seconds into the opening round.
Yong Wan Jung then entered Black Combat’s Champions League later that year and faced Gyu Jun Cho on October 1.
The result was even quicker.
Cho connected with a right hook and follow-up punches, producing a TKO only 24 seconds into Round 1. Jung had fallen to 1–2 as a professional.
Those two fights remain the only losses of his professional MMA career.
Beginning the Rebuild — Min Hyuk Lee
Only two months after the Cho loss, Jung returned against Min Hyuk Lee at Black Combat Champions League on December 3, 2022.
This time, Yong Wan Jung went the full three rounds and earned a unanimous decision, moving his record to 2–2 and stopping the two-fight skid.
In retrospect, that victory became the beginning of a much larger turnaround.
Return Against Young Je Jung
After nearly two years away from recorded professional competition, Jung returned at Black Combat Champions League on October 19, 2024.
Facing Young Je Jung, Groot again demonstrated his ability to work through a full three-round fight, earning another unanimous decision.
The victory pushed him above .500 for the first time since his professional debut and extended his winning streak to two.
Finding His Finishing Ability
Yong Wan Jung’s 2025 campaign represented the biggest step forward of his MMA career.
Against Jung Han Lee on June 7, Jung secured his first professional MMA stoppage, finishing the fight with punches and kicks 50 seconds into the second round.
He followed that performance with an even more significant finish against Ji Soo Choi on September 27.
Unlike his previous stoppage, Jung had to work into the third round. He eventually overwhelmed Choi with punches and soccer kicks at 2:13, earning his second consecutive TKO victory.
The result improved Jung to 5–2 and extended his winning streak to four.
Career Highlights
- 5–2 professional MMA record
- Four-fight winning streak
- 4–1 record in Black Combat competition
- Two consecutive TKO victories in 2025
- Three unanimous-decision victories
- No submission losses as a professional
- 40% professional MMA finishing rate
- Apparent 2–1–1 professional boxing background
- Successfully rebounded from a 1–2 start to win four consecutive fights
- Has not lost since October 2022
Summary & Trajectory
Yong Wan Jung’s career is more interesting than his 5–2 record initially suggests.
He appears to have entered MMA with genuine professional boxing experience rather than simply a recreational striking background. His early MMA career nevertheless exposed the difficulties of adapting that skill set to a sport where distance, defense, clinching and takedown threats dramatically change conventional boxing exchanges.
The two quick stoppage losses in 2022 were significant warning signs. At that point, Jung was 1–2 and had been stopped in the opening minute in consecutive fights.
His response has defined his career.
Jung returned to defeat Min Hyuk Lee by decision, followed it with another decision over Young Je Jung and then began turning those competitive victories into finishes. His consecutive stoppages of Jung Han Lee and Ji Soo Choi suggest that Groot is becoming more comfortable applying his striking within an MMA ruleset rather than simply functioning as a boxer competing in MMA.
At 29 years old in 2026, Jung should also be entering the physical prime of his career rather than approaching its conclusion.
Yong Wan Jung is an unusual prospect because his development has happened in reverse of what the record might suggest.
The 1–2 fighter who suffered consecutive first-round stoppages in 2022 looked like someone whose boxing background had not fully translated to MMA. The fighter who emerged afterward looks considerably more composed.
Three of his five victories going to unanimous decision demonstrates that Jung can win sustained fights. More importantly, his last two victories ending by TKO suggests his offensive game is beginning to catch up with his technical foundation.
There are still reasons to be measured about his ceiling. Jung has only seven professional MMA fights, has yet to demonstrate a submission threat at the professional level, and both of his losses came through strikes. His current winning streak has also largely been built within Black Combat's Champions League ecosystem rather than against established international lightweight competition.
That makes his next level of opposition particularly important.
The question is no longer whether Jung can recover from his early setbacks—he already has. The question is whether the improvements responsible for his four-fight winning streak will hold up when the quality, athleticism and finishing ability of his opponents increase.
For now, Groot is trending in the right direction. A professional boxing foundation, increasingly effective MMA striking and four consecutive victories make Yong Wan Jung a fighter worth following in South Korea's lightweight scene. If he can continue improving his defensive awareness and demonstrate the same composure against Black Combat's upper-tier lightweights, he has a realistic opportunity to move from Champions League standout into a more significant position in Korea's crowded 155-pound landscape.
Sang Kwon Han
Dae Hwan Kim
Hee Won Hong