After nearly two decades alongside Chan Sung Jung, Han Seul Kim is closing the ZFN chapter and turning to Black Combat in hopes of rediscovering his motivation and making another run at the top.
For Han Seul Kim, joining Black Combat isn’t just another change of promotion.
It might be the reset his career needed.
The veteran Korean fighter made a surprise appearance on Black Combat’s Black Box, officially revealing that he has joined the promotion after closing a chapter that stretched across nearly two decades of his MMA career.
And Kim didn’t dance around why he made the move.
After years of near-misses, disappointing results and eventually losing some of his motivation for fighting, he wants something new.
Black Combat is where he believes he can find it.
Closing a 17-Year Chapter
Naturally, one of the first questions was about Chan Sung Jung.
Kim’s relationship with “The Korean Zombie” went far beyond that of an ordinary fighter and coach. According to Kim, the two had known each other for approximately 17 years, dating all the way back to when Kim was a 20-year-old trainee.
That history made his departure from ZFN—and eventual move to Black Combat—particularly surprising.
Kim confirmed that the relationship has ended, but he pushed back against the idea of some explosive breakup.
Instead, he compared it to something much more ordinary.
A “mutual divorce.”
Their paths had begun moving in different directions. After knowing each other for so long, Kim acknowledged that mistakes had been made on both sides, but said they ultimately separated on relatively good terms.
He also revealed that Jung knew he intended to join Black Combat.
Kim’s previous contract was originally expected to continue through December, but the end date was moved forward to October, allowing him to begin his next chapter earlier.
There wasn’t one dramatic moment that suddenly ended the relationship, either.
Kim described it more as frustrations and differences gradually accumulating over time.
When pressed later about whether deeper personal issues with his former coach ultimately drove the separation, however, Kim chose not to elaborate.
“No comment.”
Han Seul Kim Needed Something Different
Maybe the most revealing part of the conversation wasn’t about Black Combat or ZFN at all.
It was Kim talking about himself.
After falling short in Road to UFC, Kim admitted that he began losing his motivation.
By the time he fought Myung Ho Bae, he said he had spent roughly a year largely focused on his personal broadcasts rather than living like an active professional fighter.
His self-management slipped.
Training wasn’t where it needed to be.
He was drinking too much.
The drive that had carried him throughout his career simply wasn’t there anymore.
For someone who has spent essentially his entire adult life around combat sports, that may have been the biggest warning sign of all.
Kim needed change.
And that’s where Black Combat entered the picture.
Why Black Combat?
Kim didn’t try to hide his opinion of his new home.
Right now, he believes Black Combat is the No. 1 MMA organization in Korea.
And if he was going to give himself another serious run, he wanted to do it there.
“I want to fight in the No. 1 organization,” Kim explained during the conversation.
There was another incentive, too.
Money.
Kim said he didn’t make excessive financial demands when discussing a deal with Black Combat. According to the interview, however, the promotion offered to pay him roughly twice what he had previously been receiving.
But perhaps just as important to Kim was something Black Combat has made central to its identity:
Content.
As someone who operates his own personal broadcasts and understands the value of marketing, Kim openly praised Black Combat’s ability to turn fighters into personalities and stories.
It was an area where he had previously felt frustrated.
And even while standing on the opposite side of the Black Combat rivalry, Kim noticed something else.
The fans.
He admitted that Black Combat’s fanbase simply brought a different level of energy.
From the outside looking in, the difference was difficult to ignore.
Now he’ll finally have that fanbase behind him.
The Fighter Who Almost Made It
Kim’s career has always carried a strange collection of “what ifs.”
There were multiple moments when the UFC appeared close.
Very close.
One opportunity was connected to a planned UFC event in Seoul. Kim believed his opportunity had finally arrived—only for the event itself to fall apart.
Other chances disappeared for different reasons.
That’s part of why Kim’s story feels unfinished.
Even with his recent struggles, he still believes the fighter who once climbed toward the top of the Korean scene is in there somewhere.
Get his mentality right.
Train like he did in his twenties.
Find that hunger again.
And Kim believes he can reach the top of Korean MMA once more.
There is certainly no mystery surrounding the weapon that helped get him there in the first place.
His left hand.
During the interview, Kim was described as a “hunter”—a fighter willing to wait patiently until the opening appears before suddenly attacking.
That left straight has ended fights before.
Seok Hyeon Ko knows that particularly well.
Kim recalled defeating Ko in their title fight and credited his experience for allowing him to capitalize despite Ko entering the matchup with considerable momentum.
There’s Already One Name on His List
A new promotion means new fights.
But Kim wouldn’t mind revisiting an old one first.
Tae Ho Jin.
Kim made it clear that he wants the rematch.
And this isn’t simply about getting a loss back on his record.
That defeat represents one of the biggest turning points of his career.
Kim said he was riding a six-fight winning streak at the time and believed another victory would have effectively secured his path toward the UFC.
Instead, Jin beat him.
There were other occasions when circumstances outside Kim’s control interfered with his UFC ambitions.
This wasn’t one of them.
This time, another fighter stopped him.
That’s why the loss still matters.
And now both men find themselves under the Black Combat umbrella.
The storyline practically writes itself.
But First, Kim Has to Heal
Fans hoping to see Kim make his Black Combat debut immediately will have to wait.
He is still recovering from a significant injury.
Kim explained that he suffered a fracture requiring surgery, although the procedure went well and his recovery appears to be progressing positively.
He expects that he will need approximately 10 months following surgery before he is ready to compete again.
That puts his tentative Black Combat debut around March or April 2027.
And wouldn’t you know it?
That timeline could eventually line up nicely with a certain rematch.
“Just Look at Me as Han Seul Kim”
Kim knows this move won’t sit well with everyone.
That’s inevitable.
He spent years associated with one side of Korean MMA’s increasingly tribal promotional landscape. There are even old videos of Kim criticizing Black Combat and its leadership.
Now he’s wearing Black Combat colors.
Kim said he has taken down his old broadcasts criticizing Black Combat and thanked the promotion for being willing to welcome him despite that history.
But his closing message wasn’t really directed toward his new fans.
It was for the people who might feel disappointed that he left.
Maybe even betrayed.
Kim asked them to stop viewing him as Han Seul Kim from one promotion, one gym or one side of Korean MMA.
Instead, he hopes they’ll simply see fighter Han Seul Kim—and person Han Seul Kim.
Because after spending his entire life in combat sports, Kim admitted that somewhere along the way he had lost some of the excitement that once drove him.
Now he has another goal.
Another promotion.
Another chance.
And perhaps one last opportunity to discover just how good Han Seul Kim can still be.
His second prime?
Maybe.
Or, as the Black Combat crew suggested, perhaps his first one hasn’t even arrived yet.
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