How a love for combat led Seo Hee Ham to a rare career

“I can confidently say this; I by no means mentioned no to any fighter.”

South Korea’s Seo Hee Ham didn’t at all times need to be a skilled fighter. In reality, she supposed to be a soldier as an grownup. Instead of combating for her nation, she’s gone onto characterize it proudly with a neatly crafted legacy as an all-time nice athlete.

Around 2004 Ham would enroll in Taekwondo on the health club close to her residence. She shortly found that the health club wasn’t solely centered on one artwork however taught the likes of kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA itself. Beginning with Taekwondo, Ham honed her expertise sufficient to ultimately impress the health club’s proprietor a lot that he instructed her she was able to doing something she wished in combat sports activities.

To start her MMA career, she was given that chance to a higher impact than many ever dream of – as a rule, for good motive.

Within Ham’s first three years as a skilled combined martial artist, she was tasked with a handful of the atomweight and strawweight division’s most pivotal founders. It all started together with her February 2007 debut towards Japan’s Hisae Watanabe.

At the time, it was clearly problematic matchmaking and supposed to be a stroll within the park for the 17-4 Watanabe. Known as probably the most devastating knockout artist within the historical past of the 105-pound weight class, Watanabe entered in recent off of her greatest career win in arguably what remains to be the division’s greatest battle.

In a means, Ham’s ignorance was really bliss. Still fully new to MMA, the Taekwondo specialist had nothing to worry and all the things to achieve – and she or he did simply that.

Korea’s best pulled off what’s probably probably the most underappreciated upset ever seen in MMA. Earning the unanimous determination nod, Ham went on to face much more iconic figures like Miku Matsumoto instantly after, Yuka Tsuji, and even Megumi Fujii.

“I wasn’t actually stunned as a result of I went there to win,” Ham instructed MyMMANews on BROADENED HORIZIN of her debut. “But I used to be very joyful. That’s the time in my career the place I didn’t know what MMA actually was. It was MMA and I didn’t even know what ‘M’ was. That’s the time. But I used to be joyful as a result of I used to be ready to journey and expertise some new issues in my life and win the battle so it was a good and joyful expertise for me.

“Every battle is a laborious battle. I don’t consider there’s a straightforward battle on the market. This is MMA, that is a battle the place you’ll solely know what’s going to occur whenever you truly go inside that ring or cage or circle towards your opponent. That’s what I did. I went in there and I didn’t care about their title, report, nothing like that. It was simply a fighter vs. fighter, human being vs. human being, and it’s simply what it’s. So possibly that’s why I got here all the best way up till now, I’m undecided.”

PhotoCred: Sherdog

At current, Seo Hee Ham holds a 23-8 report that sees her unbeaten south of 115-pounds. The final time followers have been handled to a “Hamderlei” efficiency got here on the legendary RIZIN 20 occasion which capped off 2019. In addition to ending off the 12 months, it was a huge milestone and hump overcame for the now-34-year-old as she defeated her fiercest rival.

RIZIN’s first atomweight titleholder was a fellow legend, Ayaka Hamasaki, who already had two wins over Ham from earlier on of their illustrious careers. With Ham trying higher than ever post-UFC, she’d run the desk by placing collectively a five-fight profitable streak consisting of 4 knockouts of a few of the division’s perfect.

The trilogy bout between the plain two finest fighters their weight had ever seen was unsurprisingly an immediate traditional because it culminated at every of their peaks. In the tip, Ham achieved her redemption and most up-to-date world title in a razor-thin affair by way of cut up determination.

“The solely factor I can say is I deal with all my fights the identical and I’m by no means happy with my fights ever,” Ham mentioned concerning whether or not or not the Hamasaki win was probably the most satisfying of her career. “I at all times wished to do extra and I at all times wished to be higher than that. So I can not say that that was probably the most satisfying win for me, it was simply one other battle in my career and it was simply one of many fights from all of my fights. But it’s true that it was a battle in a very new promotion, a very new stage, it was principally nonetheless new for me. It was a good expertise that I lastly beat her, sure, nevertheless it was not probably the most satisfying win or something like that.

“In RIZIN, I love Japan. So that was good. Because it’s the most important group in Japan, I at all times wished to expertise the stage there and I can not say something unhealthy about it. It was a superb expertise.”

Starting with the historic DEEP promotion, to SmackGirl, Jewels, South Korea’s ROAD FC, and even the UFC, Ham has been there and finished that in her weight courses. Despite capturing the RIZIN crown in her final trip, yet one more change of surroundings has come to fruition.

Ham is 12-0 since 2011 excluding her UFC run together with her present kind being unquestionably her finest. The Gangwon Province native will now carry her six-fight profitable streak over to ONE Championship accompanied by a boatload of expertise.

“It’s quite simple. After experiencing the UFC, I realized that there’s nothing to be fearful of. That’s what made the distinction,” she started.

“I’ve skilled a lot of promotions and I can say that each promotion could be very totally different. They have their very own model, you already know? But when you have a look at my career, each time I signal with that new group, it was when that group was on the height or after they had probably the most highlight for that division. Like proper now ONE Championship and atomweight, I consider ONE Championship atomweight is the deepest, it has probably the most highlight. So each time I transfer to that group, I consider that group had probably the most highlight, it was the most popular for my weight.

“When signing with a new promotion, I don’t deal with it the identical, I attempted to soak all the things in.”

Seo Hee Ham
PhotoCred: Asian MMA

Things can be new in sure methods for Ham however acquainted in others. Entering into ONE, Ham will accomplish that as a participant of their eight-woman world atomweight Grand Prix event that may resolve the following challenger for present champion Angela Lee.

In Ham’s 14-year career, she’s fought yearly besides for 2020 thus making it her longest layoff. Although that wasn’t the plan, Ham has used the additional time to her benefit by doing a little issues she won’t have been ready to whereas she’s been so persistently energetic. But there’s nonetheless been loads of improvement finished in preparation for the return.

Ham competed at 115-pounds as a strawweight within the UFC which is identical weight she’ll be returning to in ONE’s atomweight division. With three losses to just one victory in that stint towards the likes of all present 125-pound flyweights, Bec Rawlings, Cortney Casey, and Joanne Calderwood, Ham has appeared to make a important bodily change for this last run of her storied career.

“I can say that I’m excited, however that phrase won’t be proper,” she mentioned. “It’s like whenever you meet the one you love or somebody, it’s how your coronary heart is pumping, proper? That’s how I’m feeling proper now. This is my debut in ONE Championship… and my debut is for the Grand Prix. This girls’s Grand Prix is the primary time within the historical past of ONE Championship so it’s one thing very new.

“[Gaining muscle] is one thing that I deliberate on. After signing with ONE Championship, and after getting my date for the debut, I already knew that I might be combating any individual greater than me. So what I did was purposefully made my physique greater. Then I packed on extra muscle in order that my opponents don’t out-strength me. It was deliberate and I believe my plan goes properly.

“During my time within the UFC, I attempted to make my physique greater however I failed each time,” Ham added. “My regular strolling weight by no means elevated. It stayed the identical, I don’t know why. But when making ready for ONE Championship, I modified my technique and my physique began getting greater and my walk-around weight is a lot heavier than my typical walk-around weight. Because of that, I’m very assured that I’m going to be a totally different Seo Hee Ham than once I was within the UFC.”

Seo Hee Ham
PhotoCred: ROAD FC

Ham will want to defeat three of the most effective fighters ONE has to supply at 115 to face “The Unstoppable” Lee – a battle that she very properly may have gotten instantly upon arrival. It all kicks off with the unbeaten 9-0 Denice Zamboanga for Ham – it’s simply a matter of when as COVID-19 has postponed the unique May 28 battle date.

Already considered by many as the best fighter from her nation and arguably at 105-pound atomweight, saying Seo Hee Ham would cement her legend standing by capturing ONE gold is an understatement… however don’t assume for a second that she’ll really feel that exact same means.

“In my entire career, I by no means actually anticipated any outcome or I by no means mentioned that I’m gonna do that or that,” Ham mentioned. “I simply strive my finest in that circle or cage, you already know? But for this battle, my preparation went so properly. For the primary time, I can say that I would really like to knock her out. Most individuals know that I’m a fighter who likes to go till the tip. Like if it’s a five-round battle or three rounds, it doesn’t matter. I like to use all that point. I like to go the gap. But for this battle, I don’t know why, I actually can not clarify as a result of I additionally don’t know. I actually need to end her, I need to knock her out.

“I by no means as soon as in my life have thought that I’m a legend. To be trustworthy, I consider that there are such a lot of fighters on the market who’re higher than me. It’s simply that they by no means acquired a chance to battle me but. There are additionally fighters who’re far more proficient than me who haven’t made their debut but. That’s what I believe. I’ve simply been within the sport a very long time and have simply been lucky to have a lot of fights. It’s true that many of the fights went properly, the outcomes have been good. But I don’t assume that I’m a legend. I’ve by no means thought of that.

“I’m simply joyful that I’ve been ready to proceed within the sport and if I really feel there’s a new problem for me, like ONE Championship proper now, I consider that this was a new stage to problem myself,” she continued. “I’m simply lucky that I’m ready to do what I love and making an attempt to expertise as a lot as doable till I can’t anymore.”

BROADENED HORIZIN Ep. 8 ENGLISH AUDIO BELOW:

以下の日本語版 (JAPANESE VERSION BELOW):

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