Who'll be in the Road FC 32-Man Lightweight Tournament?

[SeoulRome]

Realistically, what sort of names would you like to see in this million dollar marathon? After just winning the Ahkmat Lightweight Grand Prix, I hope Khusein Khaliev enters the fray.

 

[CDF47]

I think any fighter that is able to fight for ROAD FC and make 155 lbs (gaining weight or dropping weight) is going to want to be in this.

 

[LHWBelt]

I think any fighter that is able to fight for ROAD FC and make 155 lbs (gaining weight or dropping weight) is going to want to be in this.

Yup I think there will be a few names in it. LW is deep as hell world wide and if they really want to they can put together a pretty stacked tournament.

 

[leto1776]

I think a huge question that will hang over this tournament is whether or not Kwon A Sol will enter, or choose instead to finally defend his LW strap. Dude is becoming Conor-esque with his hold on that title.I can't imagine him not entering this, however. $1M can buy a nice apartment in Seoul.

 

[Asurah]

I think a huge question that will hang over this tournament is whether or not Kwon A Sol will enter, or choose instead to finally defend his LW strap. Dude is becoming Conor-esque with his hold on that title.I can't imagine him not entering this, however. $1M can buy a nice apartment in Seoul.

He is tentatively scheduled to defend in December, he should be able to enter the tournament if he wants to/ROAD allows it.

ROAD's current roster has some of the following options:
Soo Chul Kim - set to challenge for the Bantamweight title soon, has fought at FW a few times lately
A Sol Kwon - mentioned above, LW champ
Min Jong Song - Flyweight champ, has fought most of his career at BW
Mu Gyeom Choi - FW champ, beat Marlon Sandro in his last fight
Winner of Bruno Miranda vs Seung Yeon Kim I think has a good chance of being entered
Shinji Sasaki - challenging for A Sol Kwon's LW belt in December
Hiroto Uesako - the guy that got injured on TUF Japan, just won his ROAD debut recently. Protege of Sexyama which they can surely use to hype him up.
Min Woo Kim - BW but he has fought at FW before, expected to fight Soo Chul Kim for the BW title soon
Won Sik Park - hasn't looked the same after his big neck injury but he's on a 2 fight win streak now and has some name recognition from the DREAM and Sengoku days
Munguntsooj Nandinerdene - could be used as filler if necessary, he always puts on an exciting fight and has big KO power
Ik Hwan Jang - just fought at FW, trains at ROAD CEO's gym
Tuerxun Jumabieke - lost his ROAD debut to Soo Chul Kim but he's still a UFC vet and the champ of WBK
Albert Cheng - TUF China vet, 2-0 in ROAD
George Roop - broke his leg earlier this year, questionable if he will be healthy
Yoon Jun Lee - just had to vacate the BW title due to a cerebral infarction he suffered recently. Doubtful that he is ready by the time the tournament begins
Kyung Pyo Kim - trains out of Team MMA Story which is run by ROAD's MW champ Jung Hwan Cha and is also the home of FW champ Mu Gyeom Choi
Heili Alateng - BW who has fought at FW before, 3-0 in ROAD and on a 6 fight win streak
Marlon Sandro - already fought Soo Chul Kim and Mu Gyeom Choi. Fighting in Pancrase in December but it doesn't seem to be an exclusive contract.
Hyun Soo Kim - FW, wrestler with an inspirational story
Nam Jin Jo - former Flyweight champ, trains out of Busan Team MAD
Kwang Hee Lee - former Spirit MC champ, challenged for the LW belt 2 fights ago. He always puts on a show

Guys that aren't necessarily on their roster but have fought for them before:
Yui Chul Nam - former LW champ, used to train under the CEO. No word on a MMA return
Young Seung Cho - beat current Interim King of Pancrase and UFC vet Issei Tamura early last year, no word since. I'm not sure if he's military or what.
Chang Hyun Kim - I need to watch the fight again but I had him beating Shinji Sasaki. Trains out of Busan Team MAD. Used to be a thing with Hamderlei, not sure if they still are.
Takasuke Kume - Challenged for the ROAD title 3 times (vs Yui Chul Nam x2 and A Sol Kwon), current LW King of Pancrase
Zhikang Zhao - BW with experience at FW, 1-0 in ROAD
Lipeng Zhang - TUF China winner, went 2-2 in the UFC, current Kunlun Fight champion. Kunlun Fight is in co-promotion with TOP FC now though so idk if we will see him back in ROAD.
Gennadiy Kovalev - fought in ROAD earlier this year
Alexey Polpudnikov - fought in ROAD earlier this year
Rae Yoon Ok - came up through ROAD's amateur league, hasn't fought for them in his pro career yet though. Trains out of Busan Team MAD.

I fully expect them to make a push for free agents, guys nearing the end of UFC contracts, and top fighters from other Asian promotions. It will be interesting to see what they can come up with for such a large scale tournament with such a large prize. It would be great if TOP and ROAD could come to terms and allow some TOP FC guys like Seung Woo Choi, Kwan Ho Kwak, Han Seul Kim, Takenori Sato, Sung Chan Hong or Young Bok Kil to enter but I won't hold my breath for it.

 

[Phrozenspite]

i'd love to see Khabib enter this if the UFC screws him over.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

He is tentatively scheduled to defend in December, he should be able to enter the tournament if he wants to/ROAD allows it.

ROAD's current roster has some of the following options:
Soo Chul Kim - set to challenge for the Bantamweight title soon, has fought at FW a few times lately
A Sol Kwon - mentioned above, LW champ
Min Jong Song - Flyweight champ, has fought most of his career at BW
Mu Gyeom Choi - FW champ, beat Marlon Sandro in his last fight
Winner of Bruno Miranda vs Seung Yeon Kim I think has a good chance of being entered
Shinji Sasaki - challenging for A Sol Kwon's LW belt in December
Hiroto Uesako - the guy that got injured on TUF Japan, just won his ROAD debut recently. Protege of Sexyama which they can surely use to hype him up.
Min Woo Kim - BW but he has fought at FW before, expected to fight Soo Chul Kim for the BW title soon
Won Sik Park - hasn't looked the same after his big neck injury but he's on a 2 fight win streak now and has some name recognition from the DREAM and Sengoku days
Munguntsooj Nandinerdene - could be used as filler if necessary, he always puts on an exciting fight and has big KO power
Ik Hwan Jang - just fought at FW, trains at ROAD CEO's gym
Tuerxun Jumabieke - lost his ROAD debut to Soo Chul Kim but he's still a UFC vet and the champ of WBK
Albert Cheng - TUF China vet, 2-0 in ROAD
George Roop - broke his leg earlier this year, questionable if he will be healthy
Yoon Jun Lee - just had to vacate the BW title due to a cerebral infarction he suffered recently. Doubtful that he is ready by the time the tournament begins
Kyung Pyo Kim - trains out of Team MMA Story which is run by ROAD's MW champ Jung Hwan Cha and is also the home of FW champ Mu Gyeom Choi
Heili Alateng - BW who has fought at FW before, 3-0 in ROAD and on a 6 fight win streak
Marlon Sandro - already fought Soo Chul Kim and Mu Gyeom Choi. Fighting in Pancrase in December but it doesn't seem to be an exclusive contract.
Hyun Soo Kim - FW, wrestler with an inspirational story
Nam Jin Jo - former Flyweight champ, trains out of Busan Team MAD
Kwang Hee Lee - former Spirit MC champ, challenged for the LW belt 2 fights ago. He always puts on a show

Guys that aren't necessarily on their roster but have fought for them before:
Yui Chul Nam - former LW champ, used to train under the CEO. No word on a MMA return
Young Seung Cho - beat current Interim King of Pancrase and UFC vet Issei Tamura early last year, no word since. I'm not sure if he's military or what.
Chang Hyun Kim - I need to watch the fight again but I had him beating Shinji Sasaki. Trains out of Busan Team MAD. Used to be a thing with Hamderlei, not sure if they still are.
Takasuke Kume - Challenged for the ROAD title 3 times (vs Yui Chul Nam x2 and A Sol Kwon), current LW King of Pancrase
Zhikang Zhao - BW with experience at FW, 1-0 in ROAD
Lipeng Zhang - TUF China winner, went 2-2 in the UFC, current Kunlun Fight champion. Kunlun Fight is in co-promotion with TOP FC now though so idk if we will see him back in ROAD.
Gennadiy Kovalev - fought in ROAD earlier this year
Alexey Polpudnikov - fought in ROAD earlier this year
Rae Yoon Ok - came up through ROAD's amateur league, hasn't fought for them in his pro career yet though. Trains out of Busan Team MAD.

I fully expect them to make a push for free agents, guys nearing the end of UFC contracts, and top fighters from other Asian promotions. It will be interesting to see what they can come up with for such a large scale tournament with such a large prize. It would be great if TOP and ROAD could come to terms and allow some TOP FC guys like Seung Woo Choi, Kwan Ho Kwak, Han Seul Kim, Takenori Sato, Sung Chan Hong or Young Bok Kil to enter but I won't hold my breath for it.

Thanks for this, I don't really follow Road so this helps a lot.

 

[fermaPY]

Some free agents like Norman Parke, Tiger Sarnavsky, Robert Witheford, Dave Jansen (Bellator contract is over), maybe Bubba Jenkins (contract with Bellator over to) but probably the most part of then will be Asian fighters that i don't know (i know some but not a lot)
But definitively going to watch this

 

[LHWBelt]

Some free agents like Norman Parke, Tiger Sarnavsky, Robert Witheford, Dave Jansen (Bellator contract is over), maybe Bubba Jenkins (contract with Bellator over to) but probably the most part of then will be Asian fighters that i don't know (i know some but not a lot)
But definitively going to watch this

I imagine it'll be mainly asian fighters but I hope they throw some others in such as the 5 you mentioned. There's tons of other good worldwide options that aren't in the main orgs as well. LW is a shark tank everywhere.

 

[Ryoto Machida]

From his Facebook.

 

[dontlaugh]

I'd like to see Kotetsu Boku in it

 

[fermaPY]

Tatsuya Kawajiri and Takanori Gomi can be great additions to, every time i read the threath i remember some names

 

[VIP1349]

Think people are over estimating how much the one million prize will get people to join. You have to win 5 fights, not get hurt at all during that stretch, and top all these guys who may get easier match ups along the way.

And who knows what they are getting for just competing? The one million prize is not shit if your risking winning four fights and getting paid 15k or some shit.

You guys are making this a bigger deal than it is.

 

[leto1776]

Think people are over estimating how much the one million prize will get people to join. You have to win 5 fights, not get hurt at all during that stretch, and top all these guys who may get easier match ups along the way.

And who knows what they are getting for just competing? The one million prize is not shit if your risking winning four fights and getting paid 15k or some shit.

You guys are making this a bigger deal than it is.

It's more than most fighters ever see. I think you overestimate fighter pay.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

Think people are over estimating how much the one million prize will get people to join. You have to win 5 fights, not get hurt at all during that stretch, and top all these guys who may get easier match ups along the way.

And who knows what they are getting for just competing? The one million prize is not shit if your risking winning four fights and getting paid 15k or some shit.

You guys are making this a bigger deal than it is.

Part of being a top fighter is being ridiculously confident. This tournament aims to take advantage of that.

The $100k prize in TUF is a joke when broken down, yet it still attracts a lot of attention from fighters.

It already attracted Des Green

Time will tell... Winning the tournament will have other rewards, beyond the win money.

 

[VIP1349]

You guys are not taking into account that 31 people have to lose. If the risk is getting paid pennies for a chance at a million. Why would they take that gamble?

Watch when its announced. There will not be many name dudes.

 

[LHWBelt]

You guys are not taking into account that 31 people have to lose. If the risk is getting paid pennies for a chance at a million. Why would they take that gamble?

Watch when its announced. There will not be many name dudes.

Desmond Green is pretty damn good and he wants in.

 

[Asurah]

People are too focused on "names". Names don't mean shit other than being a marketing tool and as somewhat of a benchmark. As long as there is great talent in the tournament I will be satisfied.

 

[LHWBelt]

People are too focused on "names". Names don't mean shit other than being a marketing tool and as somewhat of a benchmark. As long as there is great talent in the tournament I will be satisfied.

That's the point though. If they put 32 unknowns in it 1 will win for sure but it's hard to see how good that person is. Even if you just have like 6 or 7 names in it it makes it easier to see how talented the winner is. Desmond Green, Brian Cobb, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Takanori Gomi, and a couple others and your good. Even if they're a bit faded it's still easier to tell.

 

[Asurah]

That's the point though. If they put 32 unknowns in it 1 will win for sure but it's hard to see how good that person is. Even if you just have like 6 or 7 names in it it makes it easier to see how talented the winner is. Desmond Green, Brian Cobb, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Takanori Gomi, and a couple others and your good. Even if they're a bit faded it's still easier to tell.

Yeah, a lot of people seem to get the idea that the majority of the entrants need to be established names though. Get a handful of established vets and some current top guys if possible and fill the rest with promising young talent. That is very doable for ROAD, they have the money to pay notable fighters. I would rather see guys like Soo Chul Kim or Yoon Jun Lee than a bunch of 35+ year old UFC washouts or ancient PRIDE guys.