Kim Ji-yeon ( ko, 김지연; born October 18, 1992), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

(MMA). She was the

Jewels A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competes in the Women's Flyweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Kim was born and raised in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

, South Korea. She started training in the 8th grade after seeing a kickboxing match on television, which set off her desire for a career in combat sports. She also wrestled in the junior middle school and high school in her native South Korea.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kim started her professional MMA career in 2013 and fought primarily in South Korea and Japan. Kim acquired a six-fight winning streak and became the

and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion prior to joining the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kim made her UFC debut on June 17, 2017. Kim faced

Lucie Pudilová Lucie Pudilová (born June 13, 1994) is a Czech female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the Gladiator Championship Fighting Bantamweight female champion in Czech R ...

at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia in Singapore. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kim next faced

Justine Kish Svetlana Nasibulina (born 13 April 1988), known professionally by her ring name Justine Kish, is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2010, she has also competed in the Ult ...

on January 27, 2018, at UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson. She won the fight via split decision. Her third fight came on June 23, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards against Melinda Fábián. She won the fight via split decision. Kim faced

Antonina Shevchenko Antonina Shevchenko (russian: Антонина Анатольевна Шевченко; born ) is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian Muay Thai fighter and mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of the UFC. She is the older sis ...

, replacing injured

Ashlee Evans-Smith Ashlee Nicole Evans-Smith (born July 9, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's women's flyweight and bantamweight divisions. She has her own podcast called Sex & Violence with Rebel Girl. Mix ...

, on November 30, 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. At the weigh-ins, Kim weighed in at 130.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. She was fined 20 percent of her purse, which went to her opponent Shevchenko. The bout proceeded at catchweight. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kim faced

Nadia Kassem Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...

on October 6, 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

. At the weigh-ins, Kim weighed in at 128 pounds, 2 pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. Kim was fined 30% of her purse, which went to her opponent Kassem. She won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Kim was scheduled to face Sabina Mazo on December 21, 2019 on

UFC on ESPN+ 23 ''UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 165'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 21, 2019 at Sajik Arena in ...

. However, on November 1, 2019, it was reported that Kim was forced to pull from the event due to undisclosed injury. Kim was scheduled to face

Alexa Grasso Karen Alexa Grasso Montes (born August 9, 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 29, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women ...

on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, due to travel restrictions for both fighters due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the bout was rescheduled on August 29, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kim was scheduled to face

Poliana Botelho Poliana Botelho (born December 15, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division of Bellator MMA. She previously has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and held the Women's Flyweight Champio ...

on May 1, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 23 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Kim pulled out of the fight on March 22 citing injury and was replaced by

Mayra Bueno Silva Mayra Bueno Silva (born August 22, 1991) is a Brazilian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of March 7, 2023, she is #10 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. Backg ...

. Kim faced

Molly McCann Molly McCann (born 4 May 1990) is an English mixed martial artist. She is a former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life McCann was born ...

on September 4, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. The back-and-forth bout won both contestants the '' Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Kim was scheduled to face

on January 22, 2022 at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

, but Botelho pulled out instead and the pairing was scrapped. Kim faced

Priscila Cachoeira Priscila Cachoeira Gomes Da Silva (born 19 August 1988) is a Brazilian female mixed martial arts fighter. She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal life Cachoeira had a troubled childhood gr ...

on February 26, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 202 ''UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 202'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 60'' and ''UFC Vegas 49'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 26, 2022 at the U ...

. She lost the bout via controversial unanimous decision. 14 out of 15 media scored Kim as the winner of the fight. Along with Cachoeira, Kim was awarded the '' Fight of the Night'' bonus award; her second overall. Kim was scheduled to face

Mariya Agapova Mariya Agapova (born April 7, 1997) is a Kazakhstani mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Agapova started training martial arts around the age of eight in o ...

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

on July 30, 2022. However, Agapova was forced out of the fight due to knee injury and she was replaced by

Joselyne Edwards Joselyne Edwards Laboriel (born September 29, 1995) is a Panamanian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Edwards started boxing when she was 13 years old, and after four ...

. She lost the fight via split decision. Kim was scheduled to face Mandy Böhm on February 4, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 218 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 218'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 76'' and ''UFC Vegas 68'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 4, 202 ...

. However, Böhm was forced to withdrew before the event start due to illness and the bout was cancelled.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (Two times) *

Jewels (mixed martial arts) Jewels (styled JEWELS in capitals) is a mixed martial arts organization owned by Marverous Japan Co., Ltd. focused on Women's mixed martial arts, female fighters. It is the direct successor of Smackgirl. It has a working relationship with fellow ...

** Jewels Bantamweight Champion (One time) vs.

Takayo Hashi Takayo (written: , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Takayo Fischer Takayo Fischer (née Tsubouchi; born November 25, 1932) is an American stage, film and television actress, as well as voice-over a ...

* Gladiator ** Gladiator Bantamweight Champion (One time) vs. Miki Miyauchi

Mixed martial arts record

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0–2 , Hatice Ozyurt , Submission (armbar) , Road FC 23 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:14 ,

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Shizuka Sugiyama , occasionally nicknamed and , is an American-born Japanese female mixed martial artist. She previously fought in the MMA promotion Jewels and now competes for Deep. Background Sugiyama was born on in New York City, New York, United States. Su ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Ji Yeon Living people 1989 births Flyweight mixed martial artists South Korean hapkido practitioners South Korean practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners South Korean female mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists South Korean sanshou practitioners Sportspeople from Incheon Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing hapkido Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu