'Former ROAD FC champion' Kwon Ah-sol (39, FREE) will step into the cage in place of his junior.
Kwon Ah-sol will face Japan's Sekino Taisei (25, KAMI SUGANG) in a heavyweight match at the 굽네 ROAD FC 072, which will be held on the 16th at the Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul.
Sekino Taisei was supposed to fight 'two-weight champion' Kim Tae-in for the heavyweight title. Both fighters were well-prepared for the match, which raised expectations. They were poised to headline the main event, drawing attention as the stars of 굽네 ROAD FC 072.
However, due to Kim Tae-in's sudden injury, the match could not proceed. Kim Tae-in sustained an injury during training on the 13th and was diagnosed with a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his knee. He struggled through with painkillers from the hospital, trying to compete as much as possible. But Kim Tae-in's knee was not in a condition to handle the match. Ultimately, Kim Tae-in was ruled out due to the injury.
With Kim Tae-in out, Sekino Taisei requested to fight anyone. Finding a replacement for Kim Tae-in just two days before the match proved difficult.
Sekino Taisei's opponent was surprisingly decided at the weigh-in event. Kwon Ah-sol responded to Sekino Taisei's request to fight. Kwon Ah-sol expressed his willingness to compete on stage, stepping in to take the place of his close friend Kim Tae-in. Sekino Taisei accepted the match with Kwon Ah-sol, and the heavyweight bout was finalized.
Kwon Ah-sol said, “Upon hearing the news of (Kim) Tae-in's injury, I pondered all night trying to lighten Tae-in's burden. Today at the weigh-in, I requested Chairman Jeong Mun-hong for permission, and he opposed it, but I pressed on with strong determination. I was worried that the efforts put forth by athletes who had been training hard for months would be overshadowed by the injury issues.”
[굽네 ROAD FC 072 Part 2 / March 16, 4 p.m. at Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul]
[Heavyweight Kwon Ah-sol VS Sekino Taisei]
[Middleweight unified title match Hwang In-soo VS Lim Dong-hwan]
[Flyweight title match Lee Jeong-hyun VS Go Dong-hyuk]
[Open-weight Yang Ji-yong VS Nandin Erden (Kim In-sung)]
[-66kg catchweight Kim Hyun-woo VS Kuroi Kaisei]
[-68kg catchweight Park Hae-jin VS Haraguchi Shin]
[굽네 ROAD FC 072 Part 1 / March 16, 2 p.m. at Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul]
[Welterweight Yoon Tae-young VS Vurenjo Rik Batmunke]
[Flyweight Lee Gil-su VS Jo Jun-geon]
[Open-weight kickboxing match Lee Ho-jae VS Azjargar]
[Flyweight Lee Shin-woo VS Pyeon Ye-jun]
[-67kg catchweight Park Hyun-bin VS Lee Seon-joo]
[Lightweight Jang Jae-wook VS Jang Hyun-jin]
[굽네 ROAD FC 073 / June 28 at Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul]
[Yoon Hyung-bin VS Bentz]
[OSEN]