“I fell in love with the sport” - Ok Rae Yoon recalls how his mandatory military service built his love for MMA

Former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon of South Korea had no idea he wanted to become a professional mixed martial arts fighter. It wasn't until he joined the army that he discovered the sport and instantly fell in love.

Today, he is one of the most revered and accomplished athletes from South Korea, and has built a name for himself in the world's largest martial arts organization.

Ok told ONE Championship in a recent interview:

“I enlisted into the army after my first year of university. Since it was an environment where there were young men only, in our free time we would watch MMA fights online and on TV frequently. I fell in love with the sport from there.”

Ok Rae Yoon joined ONE Championship in April 2021, and got off to a blistering start.

He defeated former featherweight king Marat 'Cobra' Gafurov in his first fight for the promotion. And in a huge shock to many, he then beat former UFC champion and legend 'The Underground King' Eddie Alvarez just a week later.

But the icing on the cake for Ok was what came after.

Ok took home a closely contested unanimous decision victory over Singaporean-American star 'The Warrior' Christian Lee to capture the ONE lightweight MMA world title, earning a reputation as a 'legend killer'.

Ok Rae Yoon returns to face Turkey's Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video

Ok Rae Yoon has since relinquished the lightweight belt back to Lee in a rematch, and is now on the comeback trail, looking to book himself another world title shot.

The South Korean star is set to face Alibeg Rasulov of Turkey at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video, which broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video. The event airs in U.S. primetime, Friday, July 5th.