"I had no thoughts of turning pro" - Ok Rae Yoon admits he never imagined himself becoming an MMA world champion

Given his excellence in mixed martial arts, it's hard to imagine that Ok Rae Yoon only started to train just ten years ago. At age 23, which is quite late by most professional fighter's standards, the South Korean star decided to pursue MMA simply as a way to get fit.

Never in his wildest imagination, the thought of becoming a lightweight MMA champion in the world's largest martial arts organization ever came across his mind.

But through sheer determination and hard work, Ok Rae Yoon defied the odds and captured 26 pounds of gold, beating the likes of some legendary names like Marat Gafurov, Eddie Alvarez, and two-division king Christian Lee.

While his versatile skills allowed him to rise to the upper echelon of his division, the Team MAD standout admits it wasn't always the case, especially when he was just starting.

The former 170-pound MMA world champion revealed in an exclusive ONE Championship interview:

"I went for my first amateur fight and lost that fight quickly, from an armbar. I knew that I lost not because I was a poor athlete but because I was not skilled enough. I really wanted to win in an amateur fight and and trained extremely hard for my second fight. Because of this, I competed again and again."

The rest, as we now know, is history. Ok Rae Yoon has really come a long way. He added:

"I really had no thoughts of turning pro. But one day an offer came in and I said yes. I definitely started very late."

Ok Rae Yoon wants to capture interim belt to set up trilogy with Christian Lee

This coming Friday, July 5, Ok Rae Yoon will have an opportunity to call himself a world champion again in the main event of ONE Fight Night 23 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The South Korean star will take home the interim lightweight MMA belt if he can hand Turkish mauler Alibeg Rasulov his first career defeat.

More importantly, it's also a chance for Ok to set up a match he's been dying to get - a third and perhaps final date with champion Christian Lee in a possible lightweight MMA world title unification bout. Ok told ONE:

"For that to happen, I need a good reason, and that would be defeating a 14-0 fighter in Alibeg. I am studying Alibeg closely and preparing for him accordingly."

Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs Rasulov on Prime Video for free, as it happens live in US Primetime.