Kwon Won-il (born June 24, 1995) 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 ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

. As of March 6, 2023, he is ranked #4 in the ONE Bantamweight rankings.

Background

Kwon was born on June 24, 1996, in

Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

's fifth-largest city, about 150 kilometers south of the capital of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. His martial arts journey began when he joined his elementary school’s

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

team, where he showed natural talent and advanced beyond provincial competitions to participate in the national youth tournament. However, Kwon was far from a model student. He quit taekwondo when he graduated from elementary school, citing a lack of direction and getting into fights with other students. Eventually, he was ordered to be transferred to another school. After being informed of the news, his mother cried in front of the school's principal, and Kwon was motivated to better himself.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kwon started his professional MMA career in 2014, fighting primarily in South Korea and Japan. He amassed a record of 5–0 prior to his signing with

ONE Championship

Kwon made his promotional debut against Anthony Engelen on January 19, 2019, at ONE: Eternal Glory. He won the fight via 67 second technical knockout in the first round. Kwon faced

Masakazu Imanari is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Panc ...

on February 22, 2019, at ONE: Call to Greatness. He lost the fight via a heel hook submission in 53 second from the first round. Kwon faced former

ONE Featherweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions Men's championship history Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight limit: '' Light Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight lim ...

challenger Eric Kelly April 12, 2019, at ONE: Roots of Honor. He won the fight via 19 second technical knockout in the first round. Kwon faced

Koyomi Matsushima Koyomi Matsushima () (born October 08, 1992) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division and has previously fought in ONE Championship and Pancrase. Matsushima has faced strong opposition with the likes of Dave L ...

on June 15, 2019, at ONE: Legendary Quest. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kwon faced Sunoto Peringkat on October 13, 2019, at ONE: Century – Part 1. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Kwon faced Shoko Sato on January 31, 2020, at ONE: Fire & Fury. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Kwon faced

Bruno Pucci Bruno Pucci (born July 23, 1990) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who holds a black belt and is best known for winning gold in the featherweight division at the 2009 and 2010 No Gi Grappling World Championships. In total, Puc ...

on October 30, 2020, and aired on November 20, 2022, at ONE: Inside the Matrix 4. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Kwon faced Chen Rui on January 20, 2021, and aired on January 27, 2021, at ONE: Unbreakable 2. He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round. Kwon faced former ONE Bantamweight World Champion

Kevin Belingon Kevin Indunan Belingon (born October 30, 1987) is a Filipino mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship. He is a former ONE Bantamweight World Champion and Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) Flyweight Champion. Belingon ...

on December 3, 2021, and aired on December 17, 2021, at ONE: Winter Warriors II. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Kwon faced

Fabrício Andrade Fabrício de Andrade (born October 10, 1997) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer, who competes in the Bantamweight division of ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Bantamweight World Champion. Background ...

on June 3, 2022, at

ONE 158 ''ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on June 3, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A ONE Strawweight Championship bout between current two- ...

. He lost the fight via a body kick knockout in the first round. Kwon was scheduled to face Mark Abelardo on November 19, 2022, at

ONE on Prime Video 4 ''ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee'' (also known as ''ONE Fight Night 4'') was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on November 19, 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background The or ...

. However, on November 4, it was announced that the bout was moved to

ONE 163 ''ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on November 19, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship b ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round. Kwon faced Artem Belakh on June 10, 2023, at

ONE Fight Night 11 ''ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on June 10, 2023, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background A ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Championship bo ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Titles and accomplishments

Professional

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Mark Abelardo , TKO (knee and punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

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, KO (punch to the body) , ONE: Winter Warriors II , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Chen Rui , TKO (punch to the body) , ONE: Unbreakable 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:31 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Inside the Matrix 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Shoko Sato , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Fire & Fury , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Sunoto Peringkat , TKO (punches) , ONE: Century – Part 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Legendary Quest , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Eric Kelly , TKO (punches) , ONE: Roots of Honor , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:19 ,

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Submission (heel hook) , ONE: Call to Greatness , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Anthony Engelen , TKO (punches) , ONE: Eternal Glory , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Toshihiro Shimizu , Decision (split) , NeoFight 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Arlan Faurillo , TKO (punches) , URCC Bets 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Sung Hyun Kim , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Top FC 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Keisuke Iwata , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Fighting Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Hirotaka Miyakawa , TKO (punches) , Deep 66 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, Japan ,

References

External links

Kwon Won Il
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwon, Won Il 1995 births Living people South Korean male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo People from Daejeon Sportspeople from Daejeon South Korean male taekwondo practitioners ONE Championship mixed martial artists