Lee Sung-hyun (Korean: 이성현; born January 10, 1991) is a South Korean kickboxer who competes in the lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions. He has held World Kickboxing Network welterweight title and RISE Middleweight champion.

Lee Sung-hyun
Born (1991-01-10) January 10, 1991 (age 33)
Incheon, South Korea
Native name이성현
Other namesThe Korean Monster
NationalitySouth Korean
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight64.7 kg (143 lb; 10.19 st)
DivisionLightweight
Welterweight
Middleweight
StyleKickboxing
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofIncheon, South Korea
TeamRAON
Years active2009–present
Kickboxing record
Total72
Wins59
By knockout18
Losses11
By knockout1
Draws2
Last updated on: December 5, 2015
Lee Sung-hyun
Hangul
이성현
Revised RomanizationI Seonghyeon
McCune–ReischauerYi Sŏnghyŏn

Known for his speed and sophisticated combinations, Lee debuted in K-1 in March 2009 and further established himself by winning the RISE Korea Super Lightweight Championship in June 2011. He then went on compete regularly for RISE in Japan and had a breakout year in 2013 by winning the K-1 Korea MAX 2013 Tournament and the RISE lightweight title.

As of April 2013, Lee is ranked the #4 lightweight in the world by LiverKick.com.[1]

Career

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Early career

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Lee Sung-hyun first came to prominence by winning the KMAA Korean Welterweight Championship and debuted in K-1 on March 20, 2009, beating Kim Tae-hwan by unanimous decision at K-1 Award & MAX Korea 2009 in Seoul, South Korea.[2][3] In his sophomore appearance in the promotion, he took another unanimous decision over Kizaemon Saiga at the K-1 World MAX 2010 in Seoul World Championship Tournament Final 16 on October 3, 2010. After a slow opening round, Lee began to pull ahead in the second as he dropped Saiga twice in quick succession; firstly with a seven strike combination that culminated in a liver punch and then with a left hook and right low kick combo.[4]

Winning the RISE Lightweight title

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He was then recruited by Krush to compete in the tournament to crown the promotion's inaugural 63 kg/138 lb champion.[5] At the Krush First Generation King Tournaments ~Round.2~ in Tokyo, Japan, on January 9, 2011, he fought Koya Urabe at the quarter-final stage. The bout was scored a draw after the regulation three rounds and so an extension round was needed to decide a winner, after which Urabe was awarded the unanimous decision.[6][7] Lee returned to his home country and won a four-man tournament in Seoul on June 17, 2011, beating both Son Jun-hyuk and Park Don-fa by unanimous decision to be crowned the RISE Korea Super Lightweight (-65 kg/143.3 lb) Champion.[8] This further established him as a top prospect in the region and he was soon employed to fight on the main RISE events headquartered in Tokyo. At RISE 85 on November 23, 2011, Lee's momentum was slowed down as he lost in a non-title bout against RISE Super Lightweight Champion Koji Yoshimoto via unanimous decision. Had he not been deducted a point before the start of the fight for missing the contracted weight, he would have gotten a majority draw.[9][10]

Lee bounced back with an extension round points win over Park Byung-kyu at The Khan 3: New Generation in Seoul on January 15, 2012[11] before taking on another reigning RISE champion, lightweight titlist Yuki, in a 64 kg/141 lb non-title affair at RISE 88 on June 2, 2012, and winning a majority decision.[12][13] In the main event of RISE 89 on July 1, 2012, Lee Sung-hyun was able to beat Yuto Watanabe by technical knockout in an extension round. Although he was floored with a spinning back kick in round two, Lee controlled the rest of the bout and earned an extra round in which he dropped Watanabe twice, forcing the referee to call off the bout.[14] He was scheduled to fight Hiroshi Mizumachi at RISE 90 on October 25, 2012, in a #1 contender's bout for a shot at Yuki's lightweight belt, but Mizumachi pulled out two weeks before with an injury and was replaced by Shohei Asahara.[15] Lee bettered Asahara on the judges' scorecards and took a unanimous decision.[16] At the RISE and M-1 Muaythai Challenge co-promoted event ~Infinity I~ on December 2, 2012, he knocked out Buakaw Weerasakreck with a right cross towards the end of the first round in a 63.5 kg/140 lb bout.[17][18]

With this, he earned a rematch with Yuki and a shot at the RISE Lightweight (-63 kg/138.9 lb) Championship in the main event of the RISE 91/M-1 ~Infinity II~ co-promotion on January 6, 2013.[19] The fight went very much like their first encounter, where Lee used his advantage in speed and combinations to score on Yuki, particularly with low kicks that damaged the more powerful striker and led to a stoppage in round four and captured Lee the title[20] as well as the #4 place in the world lightweight rankings.[21]

K-1 Tournaments

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He then moved up to -70 kg/154 lb and returned to K-1 after a two-year absence to compete in the K-1 Korea MAX 2013 eight man tournament in Seoul on February 2, 2013. Drawn against Shingo Garyu in the quarter-finals, he scored a low kick knockdown over his Japanese opponent in round two before completely taking over in three. Lee dropped him again with a right cross after hurting him with a body shot and at times simply teed off on Garyu who was content to block punches with his face. Having won by unanimous decision, he then went up against Zheng Zhao Yu in the semis and won via TKO with a front kick to the body in the second round after forcing a standing eight count earlier. Pongthong Jetsada awaited him in the final, and Lee outpointed the Thai to win a unanimous decision and take the tournament crown.[22] He remained at -70 kg/154 lb for his next outing as he made his Glory debut against Yoshihiro Sato at Glory 8: Tokyo - 2013 65kg Slam on May 3, 2013. Giving up 12 cm/4 inches in height, Lee lost to Sato by unanimous decision in a close match.[23][24][25] Lee dropped to 65 kg/143 lb to fight RISE's super lightweight title holder Yasuomi Soda in a non-championship bout at RISE 94 on July 19, 2013. Soda was shown a yellow card after low blowing Lee twice in round one but stormed back to win a majority decision and stop Lee's five-fight winning streak in the promotion.[26][27] Having qualified for the tournament with his K-1 Korea win, Lee beat Charles François by unanimous decision after scoring a first round knockdown at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final 16 in Majorca, Spain on September 14, 2013.[28][29][30][31][32]

He took a split decision over Elam Ngor at the K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Quarter-final in Gran Canaria in Gran Canaria, Spain on January 11, 2014, in a close, technical affair where Ngor landed a few low blows.[33][34] At the K-1 World MAX 2014 World Championship Tournament Final 4 in Baku, Azerbaijan on February 23, 2014, he lost to Buakaw Banchamek by UD in the semi-finals.[35][36]

He is expected to face Hiroaki Suzuki at -65 kg/143 lb at Shootboxing 2014: Act 3 in Tokyo on June 21, 2014.[37] He won the fight by decision.[38] Lee defended his RISE lightweight title against Shohei Asahara on April 29, 2014, at RISE 99. He won the fight by majority decision.[39] Lee was initially set to fight Andrei Kulebin at the K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final in Pattaya, Thailand on July 26, 2014.[40] The event was postponed due to the 2014 Thai coup d'état, however.[41] He fought Kulebin in October 2014, and won by an extra round decision.[42]

RISE Middleweight champion

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Lee participated in the Kunlun Fight Qualification tournament, at KLF 40. He defeated Zhang Chunyu by a third round TKO in the semifinals, and Chris Ngimbi by decision in the finals.[43]

In July 2019, Lee faced Shintaro Matsukura at RISE 133 on July 5, 2019, for the vacant RISE Middleweight Championship. He won the fight by decision.[44]

Lee was scheduled to face Johnny Smith for the WKN World welterweight title at Prokick: Knockdown Lockdown on November 27, 2021.[45] He won the fight by split decision.[46]

Lee faced Tsukuru Midorikawa in a non-title bout at RISE 161 on August 28, 2022.[47] The fight was ruled a majority decision draw after the first three rounds, with two judges scoring it as an even 29–29 and 30–30 draw, while the third judge had it scored 30–29 for Midorikawa. The fight was once again ruled a majority draw, after an extra fourth round was contested.[48]

Lee made his first RISE Middleweight title defense against the #1 ranked contender Kaito Ono at RISE EL DORADO 2023 on March 26, 2023.[49] He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 50–47, 50–48 and 50–48.[50]

Lee faced the RISE welterweight champion Ryota Nakano in a non-title bout at RISE World Series 2023 - 1st Round on July 2, 2023. He lost the fight by a second-round spinning backfist knockout.[51]

Super lightweight

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Lee faced former RISE Lightweight champion Taiju Shiratori at RISE ELDORADO 2024 on March 17, 2024. He won the fight by majority decision.[52]

Lee faced Ryota Nakano in a re-match at RISE WORLD SERIES 2024 YOKOHAMA on September 8, 2024.[53] He won the fight by majority decision, with scores of 30—29, 30—29 and 29—29.[54]

Championships and awards

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Kickboxing

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Kickboxing record

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Kickboxing record
59 Wins (18 KOs), 11 Losses 2 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2024-12-21   Berjan Peposhi GLORY RISE Featherweight Grand Prix, Quarterfinals Chiba, Japan
2024-09-08 Win   Ryota Nakano RISE WORLD SERIES 2024 YOKOHAMA Yokohama, Japan Decision (Majority) 3 3:00
2024-03-17 Win   Taiju Shiratori RISE ELDORADO 2024 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Majority) 3 3:00
2023-07-02 Loss   Ryota Nakano RISE World Series 2023 - 1st Round Osaka, Japan KO (Spinning back fist) 2 1:05
2023-04-29 Win   Tom Santos KTK Championship Daegu, South Korea TKO (Jumping knee) 2
2023-03-26 Loss   Kaito Ono RISE ELDORADO 2023 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00
Loses the RISE Middleweight title.
2022-08-28 Draw   Tsukuru Midorikawa RISE 161 Tokyo, Japan Ext.R Decision (Majority) 4 3:00
2021-11-27 Win   Johnny Smith Prokick: Knockdown Lockdown Belfast, Northern Ireland Decision (Split) 5 3:00
Wins the WKN Oriental rules World Welterweight title.
2019-09-28 Loss   Kaito Shoot Boxing 2019 act.4 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00
2019-07-05 Win   Shintaro Matsukura RISE 133 Japan Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00
Wins the vacant RISE Middleweight title.
2018-06-17 Win   Shintaro Matsukura RISE 125 Chiba, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) 4 3:00
2018-05-12 Win   Vladimir Shuliak KTK in Kimpo South Korea Decision 3 3:00
2017-05-14 Win   Sundui Batjargal ICX Seoul South Korea KO (Right Low Kick) 2
2016-08-20 Loss   Jomthong Chuwattana Kunlun Fight 50 – World MAX 2016 Final 16 Jinan, China Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2016-03-25 Win   Chris Ngimbi Kunlun Fight 40 – World MAX 2016 Group F Tournament Final Tongling, China Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
Qualified to Kunlun Fight 2016 70kg World MAX Tournament Final 16.[56]
2016-03-25 Win   Zhang Chunyu Kunlun Fight 40 – World MAX 2016 Group F Tournament Semi Finals Tongling, China TKO 3
2016-01-23 Win   Jiao Daobo Kunlun Fight 37 China Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2016-01-09 Win   Gu Hui Kunlun Fight 36 Shanghai, China Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2015-11-14 Win   Mohan Dragon MKF Ultimate Victor 2015 Incheon, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2014-10-11 Win   Andrei Kulebin K-1 World MAX 2014 World Championship Tournament Final Pattaya, Thailand Ext.R decision 4 3:00
2014-06-21 Win   Hiroaki Suzuki Shootboxing 2014: Act 3 Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
2014-04-29 Win   Shohei Asahara RISE 99 Tokyo, Japan Decision (majority) 5 3:00
Defends the RISE Lightweight (-63 kg/138.9 lb) Championship.
2014-03-31 Win   Meng Guodong Kunlun Fight 3 Harbin, China KO 2 2:00
2014-02-23 Loss   Buakaw Banchamek K-1 World MAX 2013 Tournament Final 4, Semi Finals Baku, Azerbaijan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2014-01-11 Win   Elam Ngor K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Quarter-final in Gran Canaria Gran Canaria, Spain Decision (split) 3 3:00
2013-09-14 Win   Charles François K-1 World MAX 2013 World Championship Tournament Final 16 Majorca, Spain Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2013-07-19 Loss   Yasuomi Soda RISE 94 Tokyo, Japan Decision (majority) 3 3:00
2013-05-03 Loss   Yoshihiro Sato Glory 8: Tokyo Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2013-02-02 Win   Pongthong Jetsada K-1 Korea MAX 2013, Final Seoul, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
Wins the K-1 Korea MAX 2013 Tournament Championship.
2013-02-02 Win   Zheng Zhaoyu K-1 Korea MAX 2013, Semi Finals Seoul, South Korea TKO (front kick to the body) 2 2:04
2013-02-02 Win   Shingo Garyu K-1 Korea MAX 2013, Quarter Finals Seoul, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2013-01-06 Win   Yuki RISE 91/M-1 ~Infinity II~ Tokyo, Japan KO (low kicks) 4 1:58
Wins the RISE Lightweight (-63 kg/138.9 lb) Championship.
2012-12-02 Win   Buakaw Weerasakreck RISE/M-1 ~Infinity I~ Tokyo, Japan KO (right cross) 1 2:58
2012-10-25 Win   Shohei Asahara RISE 90 Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2012-07-01 Win   Yuto Watanabe RISE 89 Tokyo, Japan TKO (right cross) 4 1:29
2012-06-02 Win   Yuki RISE 88 Tokyo, Japan Decision (majority) 3 3:00
2012-01-15 Win   Park Byung-kyu The Khan 3: New Generation Seoul, South Korea Ext.R decision (unanimous) 4 3:00
2011-11-23 Loss   Koji Yoshimoto RISE 85 Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2011-06-17 Win   Park Don-fa RISE Korea, Final Seoul, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
Wins the RISE Korea Super Lightweight (-65 kg/143.3 lb) Championship.
2011-06-17 Win   Son Jun-hyuk RISE Korea, Semi Finals Seoul, South Korea KO (low kicks) 2 1:50
2011-01-09 Loss   Koya Urabe Krush First Generation King Tournaments ~Round.2~, Quarter Finals Tokyo, Japan Ext.R decision (unanimous) 4 3:00
2010-10-03 Win   Kizaemon Saiga K-1 World MAX 2010 in Seoul World Championship Tournament Final 16 Seoul, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2010-00-00 Win   Kwon Min-seok RISE Korea Seoul, South Korea Decision 3 3:00
2009-03-20 Win   Kim Tae-hwan K-1 Award & MAX Korea 2009 Seoul, South Korea Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes
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References

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  1. ^ Liverkick.com rankings
  2. ^ K-1 AWARD & MAX KOREA 2009! Start Of A New Division
  3. ^ K-1 Award & MAX Korea 2009 Results
  4. ^ K-1 World MAX 2010 Final 16 Live Results and Discussion
  5. ^ Krush Year Begins This Weekend
  6. ^ HEADKICKLEGEND PRESENTS: MONDAY MORNING HEADKICKS
  7. ^ Krush Results: Urabe, Sato Victorious
  8. ^ イ・ソンヒョン、RISE KOREAウェルター級王者に:6.17 ソウル
  9. ^ RISE 85 Recap and Analysis
  10. ^ RISE 85 Results: Jaideep Wins HWGP, RENA defeats Kamimura, Komiyama defeats Wielzen
  11. ^ The Khan 3! Results
  12. ^ Yuki vs Sun Hyun Lee, Hinata vs Vahid Roshani Added to RISE 88
  13. ^ RISE 88 Results: Komiyama, Kamimura, Uehara, KENJI, Lee, Van Opstal Score Wins at RISE Supercard
  14. ^ RISE 89 Results: Sun Hyun Lee Stops Yuto Watanabe
  15. ^ Yuki vs Javier Hernandez Headlines RISE 90 on October 25th
  16. ^ RISE 90 Results: Yuki Stops Javier Hernandez in 2nd Round
  17. ^ RISE/M-1 ~Infinity~ Full Fight Card and Preview
  18. ^ RISE/M-1 Infinity Results: Yamamoto, Yoshimoto Victorious; Kamimura, Mizuochi Win WPMF Titles
  19. ^ Yuki vs Lee 2, Morii vs Pornsaneh Headline RISE/M-1 ~Infinity.II~
  20. ^ RISE91/M-1MC ~Infinity.II~ Results: Sun Hyun Lee Captures RISE Title
  21. ^ Liverkick.com rankings
  22. ^ 이성현, 日라이즈 이어 코리아맥스 2013도 챔프 Archived 2014-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ GLORY 8 Tokyo Live Results
  24. ^ GLORY 8 Tokyo Results and Review: Yuta Kubo Proves Why He is the Number One Japanese Fighter in the World Archived 2013-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Glory 8 Results: Yuta Kubo wins featherweight tournament Archived 2015-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ 山本真弘、ヴィールセンをKO。左右田泰臣、ソンヒョンに判定勝ち:7.20 後楽園
  27. ^ RISE 94 Results: Yamamoto Brutally KO’s Wielzen, Daniels Williams “Robbed”
  28. ^ Yasuhiro Kido and Lee Sung-Hyun to Participate in K-1 World MAX Final 16
  29. ^ K-1 Announces K-1 World MAX 2013 Final 16 Tournament Fights
  30. ^ K-1 World MAX 2013 Final 16 Live Results
  31. ^ K-1 World Max Final 16 2013 Results Archived 2015-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ Buakaw Banchamek returns to K-1 world max with a knockout (with fight video) Archived 2013-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ K-1 World MAX 2013 Quarter Final in Gran Canaria Live Results
  34. ^ K-1 MAX Quarter Final Results from Spain Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ K-1 World MAX Semi-Final Results Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ K-1 World MAX Final Four Live Results
  37. ^ Shoot Boxing 2014: Act 3 Fight Card and Trailer
  38. ^ "6.21「SHOOT BOXING 2014 act.3」全カード発表!". shootboxing.org. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  39. ^ "【ライズ】極真・清水が大逆転のハイキックで王座防衛". efight.jp. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  40. ^ K-1 Brings in Andre Dida, World MAX Finals Gearing Up Archived 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ K-1 Postpones World MAX Show in Thailand Archived 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ "K-1 Max Final Ends in Chaos and Confusion after Buakaw Walkout". vice.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  43. ^ "Kunlun Fight 40 Results". muaythaiauthority.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  44. ^ "RISE 133 Results – Momi handles Nasukawa, Sunghyun wins 185 gold". thebodylockmma.com. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  45. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz. "Johnny Smith vs Lee Sung-hyun for WKN title – Nov 27 Belfast date official". fightmag.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  46. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz. "Lee Sung-hyun defeats Johnny Smith to lift WKN welterweight title in Belfast". fightmag.com.au. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  47. ^ "RISE 8.28 後楽園ホール:10連勝の花岡竜、RISE 2戦目はDoA -53kgベスト4の政所仁と。ミドル級王者イ・ソンヒョン、3年ぶり来日し緑川創と対戦。ねぎ魔神も出場". boutreview.com. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  48. ^ "【RISE】王者イ・ソンヒョンと緑川創が激闘ドロー、延長戦でも決着つかず". efight.jp. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  49. ^ "【RISE】海人がミドル級王者イ・ソンヒョンに挑戦「勝ちたいより勝ちます」". tokyo-sports.co.jp. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  50. ^ "【RISE】海人がイ・ソンヒョンに打ち勝ち新王者に!ド突き合いファイト制す". efight.jp. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  51. ^ "【RISE】中野椋太が衝撃の逆転KO!豪快バックブローで韓国強豪ソンヒョンを担架送りに". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  52. ^ "【RISE】白鳥大珠、ダウン奪われ韓国ソンヒョンに判定負け、脳天からマットに落ちる危険アクシデントも(イーファイト)". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  53. ^ "【RISE】ウエルター級王者・中野椋太が階級下げて年末65キロ世界T出場へ意欲「全員しばく」 - 格闘技 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  54. ^ "【RISE】韓国ソンヒョン、中野椋太をリベンジ撃破!豪打で激闘を制す". eFight【イーファイト】格闘技情報を毎日配信! (in Japanese). 8 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  55. ^ "RISE 133 Results - Momi handles Nasukawa, Sunghyun wins 185 gold". 5 July 2019.
  56. ^ Kunlun Fight 40 Results