“I never felt the desire to hit the gym” - Ok Rae Yoon reveals he wasn’t particularly athletic as a youth

Former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon of South Korea is one of his country's most accomplished combat sports athletes. The best of the best and the cream of the crop, Ok represents a nation of excellence and prestige.

However, he wasn't always at the top of the stack. The 33-year-old says that although he loved sports, he never had a good work ethic and used to hate exercising and going to the gym.

He told ONE Championship in a recent interview:

“I loved sports. I never felt any interest or passion for anything other than things that made my heart beat fast through exercise. [But] I never was too interested in hitting the gym for my exercises. I always preferred other sports. Of course, now I hit the weights more to enhance my abilities and conditioning for MMA performance.

Ok continued:

“When I was younger, I never felt the desire to hit the gym. Instead, I wondered whether there were new sports I could get into.”

Today, he is one of the toughest lightweights on the ONE Championship roster, with victories over former featherweight champion Marat Gafurov, UFC legend Eddie Alvarez, and two-division king Christian Lee.

Ok will get the chance to become champion once again in his next bout.

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Ok Rae Yoon to face undefeated Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video

With reigning champion Christian Lee's return to action still uncertain, ONE Championship has decided to introduce an interim belt at lightweight.

Ok Rae Yoon will challenge unbeaten Turkish star Alibeg Rasulov for the ONE interim lightweight MMA world title at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov on Prime Video.

The event 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 show airs Friday, July 5, at 8 PM ET.