South Korea’s four-man squad finishes 3–1 in Vietnam, with Jun Hee Moon closing the night by capturing the AFC interim middleweight championship.
Angel’s Fighting Championship returned with an international card in Vietnam on Saturday, September 12, as AFC 42 took place at a special cage inside The Grand Ho Tram.
Four Korean fighters — Jun Hee Moon, Min Seo Song, Seon Gyeom Kim and Dong Min Jang — made the trip for the eight-bout event. By the end of the night, the Korean team had put together a 3–1 record, capped by Moon capturing the AFC interim middleweight championship in the main event.
Jun Hee Moon Leaves Vietnam With Interim Gold
Jun Hee Moon entered the main event with an opportunity to add an AFC title to his résumé, facing Japan’s Yutaka Kobayashi for the interim middleweight championship at 84 kg.
Unlike several of the fights earlier in the evening, this one went the distance.
Moon did enough across the fight to earn the judges’ approval, taking a unanimous 3–0 decision over Kobayashi and closing AFC 42 with the interim middleweight championship around his waist.
It was the biggest victory of a productive night for the Korean delegation and gave Moon a significant result on international soil.
Dong Min Jang Scores KO With One Second Left
Dong Min Jang made sure his fight ended before the first-round horn — but only just.
Facing Abdumalik Malikov in an 84 kg middleweight bout, Jang secured the knockout at 4:59 of the opening round.
With literally one second remaining, the result gave Jang one of the most dramatic finishes of AFC 42 and provided the Korean team with its first victory of the night.
Seon Gyeom Kim Earns Unanimous Decision
Seon Gyeom Kim followed with another Korean victory in his 60 kg catchweight matchup against Claudio Coutinho.
This time there would be no finish.
Kim went the distance with Coutinho before receiving a unanimous 3–0 decision from the judges, giving South Korea its second win of the card.
Combined with Jang’s knockout and Moon’s championship victory later in the evening, Kim helped turn AFC 42 into a successful trip for the Korean squad.
Min Seo Song Stopped by Tran Nguyen Loc
Min Seo Song was the lone Korean fighter unable to leave Vietnam with a victory.
Song faced Tran Nguyen Loc in a 56.7 kg flyweight bout and made it into the second round before the Vietnamese fighter found the finish.
Tran stopped Song with ground-and-pound at 3:17 of Round 2, earning a TKO victory in front of the Vietnamese audience.
The loss ultimately left the Korean team at 3–1 for the event.
Five of Eight Fights End Inside the Distance
The rest of AFC 42 featured plenty of finishes.
Tran Nhat Long opened the event by submitting Tran Thanh Tuan with a triangle choke at 3:22 of Round 2, while A Le Thong defeated Van Tromg Duc Anh by unanimous decision in the lightweight division.
Trinh Xuan Anh submitted Rajiv Ranillo with a rear-naked choke at 3:42 of Round 2, and A’Keitheon Whitner needed less than three minutes to stop Fan Xudong with ground-and-pound, earning the TKO at 2:45 of the opening round.
Across eight bouts, five ended inside the distance.
But for the Korean contingent, the night belonged to its three winners.
Dong Min Jang delivered a knockout at 4:59 of Round 1. Seon Gyeom Kim handled his business over three rounds. And in the final fight of the evening, Jun Hee Moon completed the trip by leaving Vietnam as AFC’s new interim middleweight champion.
AFC 42 Full Results
Interim Middleweight Championship (-84 kg)
Jun Hee Moon def. Yutaka Kobayashi — Unanimous Decision (3–0)
Flyweight (-56.7 kg)
Tran Nguyen Loc def. Min Seo Song — TKO (Ground-and-Pound), Round 2, 3:17
Catchweight (-60 kg)
Seon Gyeom Kim def. Claudio Coutinho — Unanimous Decision (3–0)
Featherweight (-65.8 kg)
A’Keitheon Whitner def. Fan Xudong — TKO (Ground-and-Pound), Round 1, 2:45
Featherweight (-65.8 kg)
Trinh Xuan Anh def. Rajiv Ranillo — Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round 2, 3:42
Middleweight (-84 kg)
Dong Min Jang def. Abdumalik Malikov — KO, Round 1, 4:59
Lightweight (-70.4 kg)
A Le Thong def. Van Tromg Duc Anh — Unanimous Decision (3–0)
Featherweight (-65.8 kg)
Tran Nhat Long def. Tran Thanh Tuan — Submission (Triangle Choke), Round 2, 3:22
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