Yang Dongi (born December 7, 1984), often anglicised to Dongi Yang or Dong-Yi Yang, is a South Korean

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Yang has formerly competed for

DEEP Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary ...

and

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunct ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Yang began his professional career in South Korea in a tournament. Yang won three successive fights (the first via triangle choke submission and the next two via TKO to punches). Yang followed this up with a win at the Super Sambo Festival, again via TKO (punches).

Rise to prominence in Asia

Yang then joined the larger

promotion. Here, Yang won two successive bouts, both via TKO (punches). Yang then joined

Sengoku The was the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start ...

and competed in their Sengoku Fourth Battle event. His opponent was Polish judoka

Pawel Nastula Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...

. After 2:15 of the second round, Yang was victorious via TKO (exhaustion) The fight was slightly controversial due to Yang landing a knee in the clinch that earned him a yellow card. After this, Nastula was noticeably sluggish and would later complain of a groin problem. For "inexplicable reasons" the referee stopped the fight and gave a TKO verdict. Yang then defeated two opponents; one in Japan and one in the Northern Mariana Islands. As was becoming a pattern in his career, Yang won both fights via TKO (punches).

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In June 2010, Yang signed with the UFC, joining

Chan Sung Jung Jung Chan-sung (; born March 17, 1987), anglicized as Chan Sung Jung and better known by his ring name The Korean Zombie, is a South Korean former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

as the members of Korean Top Team competing in

Zuffa TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta I ...

organizations. Yang's UFC debut was at

UFC 121 ''UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States. The event was the fourth time the UFC hosted at the Hond ...

against ''The Ultimate Fighter'' competitor

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

. Yang began the fight with a successful takedown, followed by ground-and-pound. After standing up, Camozzi was able to keep Yang at bay with kicks, before engaging in the clinch. However, Yang's thick neck and shoulders prevented effective attacks. Later, Camozzi was able to effectively time the advance of Yang. In the third, Yang began to swing wildly, to no avail. Camozzi was declared the winner via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–28). Yang next fight was against

Rob Kimmons Rob Kimmons (born January 30, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional from 2000 until 2013, he competed for the UFC, WEC, and Titan FC. Background Raised in the small town ...

on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. Yang won the fight by TKO near the end of the second round, giving him his first UFC win. Yang faced

Court McGee Court McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local pr ...

on September 17, 2011 in the co-main event at

UFC Fight Night 25 ''UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 25'' or ''UFC Fight Night: Battle on the Bayou'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 17, 2011 at the Ernest N. Moria ...

. The match was a pure back and forth kickboxing match. Yang was able to have some success and connected with some punches that wobbled McGee, in the end it was not enough to get the victory. Yang faced

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares fought in regional p ...

on May 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. Yang was defeated by Tavares via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC

On June 29, 2013 Yang defeated

ROAD FC Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

veteran Jae Young Kim by TKO in the second round at Top FC 1 in South Korea. Yang followed that up with an impressive first round TKO of fellow

UFC 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

veteran

Dennis Hallman Dennis Lloyd Hallman (born December 2, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed from 1996 to 2015. A veteran of 75 fights, he competed in various promotions including the UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, the World Series ...

at Top FC 6 on April 5, 2015.

Return to UFC

In late August, it was confirmed that Yang had re-signed with the UFC and will continue competing in the promotion's

division. He faced

Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background With no background in ...

UFC Fight Night 79 ''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 79'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 28, 2015, at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. Background The event was the first that the organizati ...

on November 28, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Yang was expected to face promotional newcomer Ryan Janes on October 15, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 97 ''UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 97'') was a planned mixed martial arts event that was set to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 15, 2016, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. ...

. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely.

Post-UFC

Yang returned to competition three years later to face

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

fighter Paul Cheng. He won via first-round TKO. Yang fought again a year later against Brazilian Callyugibrainn Marinho Borges. The two engaged in a wild brawl, and Yang was defeated via TKO in the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Cally Gibrainn de Oliveira , TKO (punches) , Double G FC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:24 ,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Paul Cheng , TKO (punches) , Double G FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, South Korea , Return to

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

. , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Masvidal , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:50 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , Top FC 6: Unbreakable Dream , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,

, South Korea , Catchweight (198) lb bout. , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Jae Young Kim , TKO (body kicks and punches) , Top FC 1: Original , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Bill Saures , TKO (punches) , Trench Warz 12: Battle Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, Northern Mariana Islands ,

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Ryuta Noji , TKO (punches) , Heat 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:17 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 ,

, TKO (exhaustion) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:15 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Keigo Takamori , TKO (punches) , Deep: 31 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, Japan , Openweight bout. , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Junpei Hamada , TKO (punches) , Deep: CMA Festival 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:56 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chang Seob Lee , TKO (punches) , Super Sambo Festival , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Yun Seob Kwak , TKO (punches) , WXF: North Jeolla MMA Championships , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:35 ,

North Jeolla North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dool Hee Lee , TKO (punches) , WXF: North Jeolla MMA Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Hyung Kyo Lee , Submission (triangle choke) , WXF: North Jeolla MMA Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

, South Korea ,

References

External links