Korean comes out on top at UFC 125

Kim Dong-hyun earned a close unanimous decision against Nate Diaz at UFC 125, improving his record to 14 wins, one draw and one no-contest. Kim narrowly edged Diaz 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards in the welterweight division bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Kim was the aggressor in the fight from the start. He took Diaz down one minute into the bout and applied pressure from the mounted position during much of the first round. Kim continued to try to get his opponent to the ground in the second round, succeeding twice.

But when Kim looked to be cruising to an easy victory, Diaz managed to turn the tide in the third and final round. Diaz succeeded on a takedown early in the third round but connected on a knee to Kim’s head while the Korean fighter still had his hand on the canvas.

That move is against UFC rules and Kim was given two minutes to recover. Diaz managed to mount a strong attack in the final moments of the fight but it was not enough to sway the judges.

Listed at 185 centimeters (6-foot-1) and 77 kilograms (170 pounds), Kim previously fought in Spirit MC, a Korean tournament, and Deep, a Japanese tournament, prior to making his debut at UFC 84 in May 2008.

Kim has a record of five wins and one no-contest in the UFC. The no-contest came after a controversial split decision loss to Karo Parisyan in January 2009. Parysian was found to have tested positive for three banned painkillers and the bout was changed to a no contest.