Soo Chul Kim

Kim Soo-chul (; born December 10, 1991), anglicized as Soo Chul Kim, is a South Korean professional mixed martial artist, and submission grappler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of Road FC, where he is the former Road FC Bantamweight Champion, and Road FC Featherweight Champion. He is the first fighter in Road FC history to win a championship in two different weight divisions. He formerly competed in the Bantamweight division of ONE FC, where he was the inaugural ONE FC Bantamweight Champion. He also competed for RIZIN, Bellator MMA, and Rising On, where he was their featherweight champion.

Background and early life Kim was born on December 10, 1991, in Wonju, Gangwon-do, South Korea. He started training in Taekwondo and Boxing around the age of 15, while attending Wonju Technical High School.

Mixed martial arts career Amateur career Before turning professional in 2010 at the age of 19, Kim had one amateur mixed martial arts fight. He faced Jang Hwa-seung at Neo Fight - Challengers 2, on July 25, 2009. He won the fight by submission in the first round via armbar. Early career Kim made his professional MMA debut at Rising On 3 - Dynamic, facing Yasuhiro Kanayama. He won the fight in the first round due to an armbar, and he won the promotion’s vacant featherweight championship.

Soo faced Kim Hyo-ryeong, at Road FC 001: The Resurrection of Champions, on October 23 of 2010. He won the fight in the first round by submission, via guillotine choke.

Kim fought So Jae-hyun at Road FC 002: Alive, on April 16, 2011. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Kim faced Andrew Leone at PRO Fighting 5 - Still Standing, on July 17, 2011. He lost the fight in the first round via submission, due to a guillotine choke.

Soo faced Kenta Nakamura at Road FC 003: Explosion, on July 24, 2011. He won via unanimous decision.

Inaugural ONE FC stint Chul made his ONE FC debut against Leandro Issa at ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion, on September 3, 2011. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Kim faced Gustavo Falciroli at ONE FC: Battle of Heroes, on February 11 of 2012. He lost the fight in the first round via rear-naked choke submission.

Second stint at Road FC Soo fought Moon Jae-hoon at Road FC 007: Recharged, on March 24, 2012. He lost the fight, by unanimous decision.

Kim faced Shōkō Satō at Road FC 008: Final 4 Bitter Rivals, on June 16 of 2012, in his hometown of Wonju. He won the fight in the fourth round via TKO, due to a doctor’s stoppage.

Return to ONE FC Kim returned to ONE FC, facing Kevin Belingon at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, on August 31, 2012. He won the fight via unanimous decision. ONE FC Bantamweight Championship Chul faced Leandro Issa in a rematch for the inaugural ONE FC Bantamweight Championship at ONE FC: Rise of Kings, on October 6, 2012. He won the fight in the second round via TKO to punches, and thus became the inaugural champion. Losing the title Kim made his first defense of the ONE FC bantamweight title by facing former DREAM two-division champion and multiple-time BJJ world champion Bibiano Fernandes, in ONE FC: Total Domination, on October 18 of 2013. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, losing the title in the process.

Third stint at Road FC Kim returned to Road FC for a third time, fighting Motonobu Tezuka at Road FC 014, on February 9, 2014. He won the fight via TKO to punches in the first round.

Soo fought Issei Tamura at Road FC 015, on May 31 of 2014, in his hometown of Wonju. He won the fight via submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round.

Kim faced Wagner Campos at Road FC 021, on February 1, 2015. He won the fight via TKO to a flying knee and punches in the first round.

Soo fought Taiyo Nakahara at Road FC 024, on July 25, 2025. He won the fight via submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round.

Kim faced Marlon Sandro at Road FC 025, on August 22 of 2015. Soo and Marlon fought to a unanimous draw.

RIZIN debut Kim faced Maike Linhares in his RIZIN debut at RIZIN World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza, on December 31, 2015. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Kim faced Marcus Brimage at Road FC 029, on March 12, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Soo fought Zhumabek Tursyn at Road FC 032, on July 2, 2016. He won the fight via TKO due to punches in the second round.

Kim faced Shunichi Shimizu at Road FC 035, on December 10, 2016. He won the fight via submission due to an armbar in the second round.

ROAD FC Bantamweight Championship and retirement Soo fought Kim Min-woo for the vacant ROAD FC Bantamweight Championship at Road FC 038, on April 15, 2017. He won the fight via unanimous decision, winning the title in the process. Kim emotionally celebrated with his parents, thanking them for being there for him, and he vowed to take care of them. At the 2017 Road FC Awards, he was named fighter of the year. Shortly after the induction, he retired, due to diagnosis of panic disorder. He relinquished the bantamweight title.

Return to MMA and fourth stint in Road FC Kim was announced to return to MMA in the featherweight division of Road FC, facing Park Hae-jin for the vacant ROAD FC Featherweight Championship at Road FC 059, on September 4 of 2021. He lost the fight in the first round due to a guillotine choke, snapping a 8-fight winning streak inside the promotion.

Kim was set to face Park Hae-jin in an immediate rematch for the ROAD FC Featherweight Championship at Road FC 060, on May 14, 2022. He won the fight in the second round via TKO due to a head kick and punches, winning the featherweight title in the process. Kim was recognized as ROAD FC’s first ever double champion, as he held the bantamweight and featherweight straps.

Departure from Road FC and second stint in RIZIN Kim signed to RIZIN in August of 2022, and he later vacated the featherweight title of ROAD FC.

Kim faced former Shooto two-division champion Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 38, on September 25, 2022. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Soo faced former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion and 4-division KOTC champion Juan Archuleta at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN, on December 31, 2022. He lost the fight via split decision.

Fifth stint in Road FC Kim faced Aleksey Indenko at Road FC 064 on June 24, 2023. He won the fight via submission in the first round, due to a guillotine choke.

Kim fought Bruno Azevedo at Road FC 065, on August 26 of 2023. He won by unanimous decision.

Kim faced Akira Haraguchi at Road FC 066, on October 29, 2023. He won the fight in the second round via KO, due to punches.

Stints between ROAD FC and RIZIN Chul fought Taichi Nakajima at RIZIN 46, on April 29, 2024. He won the fight in the second round, via KO due to punches.

Kim faced Naoki Inoue at RIZIN 48 for the vacant RIZIN Bantamweight Championship, on September 29, 2024. He lost the fight in the first round via TKO, due to doctor’s stoppage.

Chul fought Kim Hyun-woo at Road FC 070, on October 27, 2024. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Kim fought Yang Ji-yong at Road FC 071, on December 29 of 2024. Originally ruled as a KO win for Yang in the first round, the fight was overturned to a no contest, following a review of the footage showing an illegal headbutt. Chul faced a Orbital bone fracture. He later had a surgery on his orbital bone, receiving two titanium plates in his surgery and recovering fully across 2025 and 2026.

Kim faced Shōkō Satō in a rematch at RIZIN World Series in Korea, on May 31, 2025. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Kim faced Yang Ji-yong in a stoked and hyped rematch at Road FC 076, on March 15, 2026. Originally a 3-round tournament final for the ROAD FC Global Bantamweight Tournament Championship, the fight went an extra round. Kim won the fight via unanimous decision, and won the tournament championship.

Championships and accomplishments Road Fighting Championship (ROAD FC) ROAD FC Bantamweight Championship (One time; former) ROAD FC Featherweight Championship (One time; former) 2026 ROAD FC Global Bantamweight Tournament Championship (One time; last) ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) ONE FC Bantamweight Championship (One time; inaugural) Rising On Fighting Championship (ROFC) Rising On Featherweight Championship (One time; former)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Yang Ji-yong Decision (unanimous) Road FC 076

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Shōkō Satō Decision (unanimous) Rizin World Series in Korea

Incheon, South Korea NC

Yang Ji-yong NC (overturned) Road FC 71

Wonju, South Korea Win

Kim Hyun-woo Decision (unanimous) Road FC 70

Wonju, South Korea Loss

Naoki Inoue TKO (punches) Rizin 48

Saitama, Japan Win

Taichi Nakajima KO (punches) Rizin 46

Tokyo, Japan Win

Akira Haraguchi KO (punches) Road FC 66

Wonju, South Korea Win

Bruno Azevedo Decision (unanimous) Road FC 65

Anyang, South Korea Win

Aleksey Indenko Submission (guillotine choke) Road FC 64

Wonju, South Korea Loss

Juan Archuleta Decision (split) Bellator MMA vs. Rizin

Saitama, Japan Win

Hiromasa Ougikubo Decision (unanimous) Rizin 38

Saitama, Japan Win

Park Hae-jin KO (head kick and punches) Road FC 60

Daejeon, South Korea Loss

Park Hae-jin Submission (guillotine choke) Road FC 59

Wonju, South Korea Win

Kim Min-woo Decision (unanimous) Road FC 38

Seoul, South Korea Win

Shunichi Shimizu Submission (armbar) Road FC 35

Seoul, South Korea Win

Zhumabek Tursyn TKO (punches) Road FC 32

Changsha, China Win

Marcus Brimage Decision (unanimous) Road FC 29

Seoul, South Korea Win

Maike Linhares Decision (unanimous) Rizin World Grand Prix 2015: Part 2 - Iza

Saitama, Japan Draw

Marlon Sandro Draw (unanimous) Road FC 025

Wonju, South Korea Win

Taiyo Nakahara Submission (guillotine choke) Road FC 24

Tokyo, Japan Win

Wagner Campos TKO (flying knee and punches) Road FC 21

Seoul, South Korea Win

Issei Tamura Submission (rear-naked choke) Road FC 15

Wonju, South Korea Win

Motonobu Tezuka TKO (punches) Road FC 14

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Bibiano Fernandes Decision (unanimous) ONE FC: Total Domination

Kallang, Singapore Win

Leandro Issa TKO (punches) ONE FC: Rise of Kings

Kallang, Singapore Win

Kevin Belingon Decision (unanimous) ONE FC: Pride of a Nation

Quezon City, Philippines Win

Shōkō Satō TKO (doctor stoppage) Road FC 8

Wonju, South Korea Loss

Moon Jae-hoon Decision (unanimous) Road FC 7

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Gustavo Falciroli Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE FC: Battle of Heroes

Jakarta, Indonesia Loss

Leandro Issa Decision (unanimous) ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion

Kallang, Singapore Win

Kenta Nakamura Decision (unanimous) Road FC 3

Seoul, South Korea Loss

Andrew Leone Submission (guillotine choke) PRO Fighting 5: Still Standing

Taipei, Taiwan Win

So Jae-hyun Decision (unanimous) Road FC 2

Seoul, South Korea Win

Kim Hyo-ryeong Submission (guillotine choke) Road FC 1

Seoul, South Korea Win

Yasuhiro Kanayama Submission (armbar) Rising On 3

Takaishi, Japan