'Korean Tyson' Go Seok-hyeon (32) will go after a three-fight winning streak in the UFC.
Stun Gun Kim Dong-hyun's student Go Seok-hyeon will face Jacoby "Kobe" Smith (29, U.S.) at welterweight (77.1 kg) at UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 22 (all times Korea time).
This is his comeback three months after his unanimous decision win over Phil Rowe last November. He returned to the gym the day after returning to Korea and has trained continuously, so his preparation is sufficient. Go Seok-hyeon said, I was training every day, so I didn't mind whenever a fight came up and I was waiting for a fight offer, and I'm happy a fight was scheduled quickly, explaining the reason for his quick return.
It is a matchup between rising UFC welterweight prospects. Both fighters entered the UFC through Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) in 2024 and have since compiled two straight wins. Go Seok-hyeon (13 wins, 2 losses) defeated Oban Elliott and Phil Rowe, and Smith (11 wins) finished Preston Parsons and Niko Price. Only the winner here can rise higher.
If Go Seok-hyeon is a strategist who wins on the back of superior conditioning and grappling, Smith is a killer who ends fights with powerful strikes. Nine of his 11 wins are finishes, and seven of those are first-round finishes. Go Seok-hyeon evaluated Smith as a wrestler by trade with tremendous firepower and said, It should be fun to face him.
Different grappling styles collide. Go Seok-hyeon learned judo from a young age and won a gold medal at the 2017 Combat Sambo World Championships (FIAS). Smith is a U.S. traditional folkstyle wrestler with outstanding credentials: two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) champion and one NCAA All-American (8th place) finish.
Unlike his previous opponents, Smith is a wrestler-based fighter, so he could be a true test for Go Seok-hyeon. In his previous two fights, Go recorded 10 takedowns and controlled advantageous positions for 23 minutes 25 seconds of the 30-minute fights. Go said, Of course I think the wrestling battle won't be easy, but I use a different style of wrestling than orthodox wrestlers and have many unconventional weapons, so Smith will be flustered.
He is confident of victory in this bout as well. Go said, There are no easy opponents in the UFC and every fight is a war, but I can definitely win and move up, expressing confidence. He added, I want to get a finish because I couldn't finish previous fights, and if it comes naturally in the match that would be good, but if not I'll win by decision, he vowed.
Recently Go Seok-hyeon and his coach Kim Dong-hyun have been traveling the world performing ascetic training, showing humility and diligence, and gaining great popularity among fans. Not long ago he received 25 million won in fan donations. He said, I am so grateful I don't know what to do, and I think the way I can repay them is to show better results in the next fight, so I am training hard.
[Photo] Provided by the UFC.
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