Choi Doo-ho ( ko, 최두호; born April 10, 1991, often

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

to Doo Ho Choi or Dooho Choi), 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, incorpo ...

who currently competes in 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 ...

in their

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

division.

Background

Choi graduated from

Gumi University Gumi University is a university located in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, South Korea. Notable alumni * Choi Doo-ho - professional Mixed Martial Artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ...

with a degree in Security.

Mixed martial arts career

DEEP

Choi started getting noticed in the MMA world after making his DEEP debut in June 2010, when he faced Yusuke Kagiyama. Choi lost his Deep debut via split decision. After a short stint on the independent circuit, Choi returned to DEEP in September 2010, facing Atsuhiro Tsuboi. He won by TKO in the first round. He went undefeated in his next fights in MMA, beating various fighters like Mitsuhiro Ishida, Kosuke Omeda, and Nobuhiro Obiya. Before being released to fight in the UFC, Choi fought for DEEP one last time, on June 15, 2013, when he faced Japanese prospect Shoji Maruyama. He won via TKO in the second round.

Sengoku Raiden Championship

While fighting for DEEP, Choi also signed with Sengoku Raiden Championship. He had his first fight at SRC: Sengoku Raiden Championship 13, when he faced Ikuo Usuda. Choi won via split decision. A few months later, Choi was slated to face

Masanori Kanehara Masanori Kanehara (born November 18, 1982) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing the Bantamweight division in DEEP and Rizin FF. A professional competitor since 2003, Kanehara has formerly competed for World Victory Road, K-1, ...

at SRC: Sengoku Raiden Championship 15. However, three weeks before the event, Choi suffered an injury and the fight was taken off the card.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 2013, following a nine-fight winning streak, Choi signed a contract to fight with the UFC to compete in their featherweight division. Choi was scheduled to face Sam Sicilia on May 24, 2014, at UFC 173. However, Choi pulled out of the bout with an injury. Choi ultimately made his debut when he faced Juan Puig on November 22, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 57. He won the fight via TKO just 18 seconds into the first round. A rescheduled bout with Sam Sicilia was expected to take place on July 15, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 71. However, Choi pulled out of the fight in late June for undisclosed reasons. The bout with Sicilia was scheduled a third time and took place on November 28, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 79. Choi won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win also earned him his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Choi next faced Thiago Tavares on July 8, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win earned him a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Choi faced Cub Swanson on December 10, 2016, at UFC 206. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. The fight was nominated for ''Fight of the year'' by the World MMA Awards and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night.'' During

UFC 273 ''UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Backgroun ...

broadcast in April 2022 it was announced that the fight will be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing class of 2022. Choi was briefly linked to a bout with

Renan Barão Renan Mota do Nascimento Pegado (born 31 January 1987), better known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history - follo ...

which was expected to take place on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. However, as the announcement of the pairing began to circulate, Choi declined the bout, and as a result, Barao is expected to be rescheduled against a different opponent, possibly at another event. Choi was expected to face Andre Fili on July 29, 2017 at UFC 214. However, Choi pulled out of the fight on June 14 citing an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Calvin Kattar. Choi next faced

Jeremy Stephens Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the ...

on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night''. Choi faced

Charles Jourdain Charles Jourdain (born November 27, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Featherweight division. He was previously a TKO Major League MMA Double Champion, w ...

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 ...

. After knocking Jourdain down in the first round, Choi eventually lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' awards. Choi was scheduled to face Danny Chavez on July 31, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 28 ''UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 28'' and ''UFC Vegas 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 31, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Ne ...

. However, Choi had to pull out of the bout due to injury. Choi is scheduled to face Kyle Nelson 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, 2 ...

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

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 ...

(Two times) vs. Sam Sicilia and Thiago Tavares ** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Cub Swanson,

, and

**2016 Fight of the Year vs. Cub Swanson ** UFC Hall of Fame (Fight Wing) vs. * World MMA Awards **Fight of the Year (2016) vs. Cub Swanson at UFC 206 *

**Fight of the Year (2016) vs. Cub Swanson *MMADNA.nl **2016 Fight of the Year.vs. Cub Swanson

Filmography

Television shows

Mixed martial arts record

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

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Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Doo-ho Living people 1991 births South Korean male mixed martial artists South Korean practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Gumi, North Gyeongsang Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from North Gyeongsang Province