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UFC 234: Kyung Ho Kang chokes Teruto Ishihara for first-round victory

ByThomas Albano|
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 10: Kyung Ho Kang of South Korea celebrates his submission victory over Teruto Ishihara of Japan in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 10: Kyung Ho Kang of South Korea celebrates his submission victory over Teruto Ishihara of Japan in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Kyung Ho Kang opened the UFC 234 televised prelims in style, submitting Teruto Ishihara in a bout that featured quite a few hard-hitting exchanges.

Kyung Ho Kang defeated Teruto Ishihara via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1 – 3:59 at UFC 234 on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, live from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

“He got me once. I was on my knees on the mat, but all I was thinking was how I can get back to my feet and fight again,” Kang said in the post-fight interview. “It hurt very much but I knew I had to fight back to win.

“The last couple of years I [won], but all my wins were by split decision. But now said I would only win by knockout or submission. For this fight, all I was thinking was ‘Knock him out in the first round.’ For my next fight, I want to fight a top-10 ranked [fighter].

Here’s how the whole fight played out.

Round 1

The two came together, and both men felt each other out, throwing kicks. Kang landed a right. The two traded leg kicks. Ishihara with a quick combination. Kang came after in, but was rocked by a left and brought to his knees by Ishihara. Ishihara looked for a guillotine, but the fight got back to the feet. Kang clipped Ishihara, forcing him on the back foot. Ishihara missed with overhand right. The two get into a clinch and Kang rocked Ishihara once more with a hard knee to the body. Kang got on the inside and looked for the finish, but Ishihara took the shots on the chin well and fired back until Kang got a level change and scores a takedown. Kang took Ishihara’s back and flattened him out. Kang got the hooks under the chin, scoring a rear-naked choke, and Ishihara went out.

Kang went 2-1-1 in the UFC between 2013 and 2014 before serving a mandatory two-year military service. His 2018 return to the Octagon saw a first-round submission of Guido Cannetti in January before losing a split decision to Ricardo Ramos at UFC 227.

This is Ishihara’s third consecutive loss and his fifth defeat in his last six bouts. After earning his contract through Road to UFC: Japan, Ishihara scored two big knockouts in 2016 before falling to Artem Lobov. After a loss to Gray Maynard and a win over Ronaldo Dy, Ishihara moved to bantamweight, but he’s now lost all three bouts he’s had in the weight class since the move.

UFC 234 took place on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights throughout the night.

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