4th Korean UFC Weightlifting World Championship Gold Medal Kim Min-jong
Seoul Judo Tournament 1/2th place in middle school
Kim Min-jong “Lee Isak has good athletic sense and grit”
“Kim Min-jong was a really cool player.” Kim Min-jong aims to win the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games. Lee Isaac makes his 25th UFC Korean debut in May

The UFC Fight Night 277 of the MMA competition will be held on May 30 at Inhe Zong Pavilion (160,000 seats) in Macau Special Administrative Region, China. Korean Top Team middleweight (84kg) Lee Isaac (26) will make his debut as the 25th Korean UFC fighter.

When he was in Seongnam Middle School, Lee Isaac won the runner-up prize of +90kg at the 31st Seoul Metropolitan Government Long-Term Judo Competition in 2013. At that time, the same weight class winner was Kim Min-jong (26, Yangpyeong County Office), the 37th International Judo Federation (IJF) World Championship +100kg champion in 2024.

Lee Isaac participated as KTT's second at the mixed martial arts competition TFC Dream 08 held at Monster House in Ilsan-dong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026. Korea's UFC 25th fighter will debut in May. Photo = Courtesy of Frank Five reporter Lee Kyo-duk 사진 확대 Lee Isaac participated as KTT’s second at the mixed martial arts competition TFC Dream 08 held at Monster House in Ilsan-dong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026. Korea’s UFC 25th fighter will debut in May. Photo = Courtesy of Frank Five reporter Lee Kyo-duk Kim Min-jong at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in 2024 Men's +100kg Gold Medal Award Ceremony. Photo =EPA = Courtesy of Yonhap News 사진 확대 Kim Min-jong at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in 2024 Men’s +100kg Gold Medal Award Ceremony. Photo =EPA = Courtesy of Yonhap News

Kim Min-jong delivered his memory of Lee Isaac to MK Sports through Ahn Cheol-woong (44), a public relations member of the Korea Judo Association, saying, “I was a player who was good at judo, athletic, and grit.”

Lee Isaac said in an interview with MK Sports, “I won a medal from the middle school competition from the first grade, and when I was in the second grade, I won first place in Joo-wook. That’s why I haven’t been able to represent the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and I’ve lost even if I meet him at the national competition,” he said of Kim Min-jong, a judo team at Boseong Middle School.

Lee Isaac, who officially beat Kim Min-jong only once, recalled, “I wanted to pass it, but I couldn’t, but I was already a really sincere and wonderful player in middle school.”

Lee Isaac will make his debut as the 25th fighter of the Korean UFC in May 2026. He is the fourth Korean UFC heavyweight. Photo by @lsaac_ee 사진 확대 Lee Isaac will make his debut as the 25th fighter of the Korean UFC in May 2026. He is the fourth Korean UFC heavyweight. Photo by @lsaac_ee Kim Min-jong is clenching his fist after winning the men's +100kg final at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in 2024 by beating 2018 gold medalist Guram Tousishvili with a single press. Photo = Courtesy of Korean induction ceremony 사진 확대 Kim Min-jong is clenching his fist after winning the men’s +100kg final at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in 2024 by beating 2018 gold medalist Guram Tousishvili with a single press. Photo = Courtesy of Korean induction ceremony

Kim Min-jong won a silver medal in men’s judo +100kg at the 33rd Paris Summer Olympics in 2024. He is determined to make up for the disappointment of the bronze medal at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games in China in 2026 at the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games in Japan.

Lee Isaac defeated Daichi Mikami (30, Japan) in September 2025 with his bare hands in the third round. He won the surrender of Lim Dong-hwan (31, Timstrong), the provisional champion of Road FC’s middleweight division, to Mikami, who TKO in 30 seconds.

From 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, he will compete with Luis Felipe Gias (31, Brazil) in the first UFC Fight Night 277. Lee Isaac should take charge of the opening game of the tournament and heat up the Macau Inhe Zongyiwan.

Lee Isaac, the 4th heavyweight fighter in the Korean UFC, and Dana White, the 9th week of UFC President Audition Contender Series Season 9 middleweight passerby Luis Felipe Zias. 사진=PROGRESS実行委員会/TKO 사진 확대 Lee Isaac, the 4th heavyweight fighter in the Korean UFC, and Dana White, the 9th week of UFC President Audition Contender Series Season 9 middleweight passerby Luis Felipe Zias. 사진=PROGRESS実行委員会/TKO

UFC’s all-time Korean heavyweight fighter

2011 Bucket (Middle Class)

2019 Jungdown (Light Heavyweight)

2019 Park Jun Yong (middle class)

2026 Lee Isaac (middle class)

Korea’s UFC fighter after the COVID-19 pandemic

Korea’s No. 19 Park Hyun-sung (flyweight) December 2023

Korea’s No. 20 Lee Jung-young (feather class) February 2024

Korea’s 21st Yoo Soo-young (bantamweight) March 2025

No. 22 of Korea, Lee Chang-ho (bantam grade) April 2025

Korea’s 23rd Yuju Award (feather class) June 2025

Korea’s No. 24 Ko Seok-hyun (Welter Class) June 2025

No. 25 (scheduled) Lee Isaac (middle class)

2026 UFC fighter schedule in Korea

Ko Seok-hyun’s rib injury on February 22

March 08. Fracture of the floating toe

Lee Jung-young failed to lose weight on March 08

Yoo Soo-young’s submission was defeated on March 15th

April 05 Park Jun Yong’s elbow surgery

April 19th Choi Dong-hoon’s orbital fracture

Choi Doo-ho to retire on April 19

Choi Doo-ho is scheduled to participate on May 17th

I’m going to participate in this event on May 30th

a mixed martial arts record

2018~ 10 wins and 2 losses

KO/TKO 06 wins and 1 loss

Submission 03 wins and 1 loss

professional 8 wins and 1 loss

I think it’s 2 wins and 1 loss

Kim Min-jong won the individual competition in judo

Kim Min-jong is interviewing his return home after winning the men's +100kg gold medal at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in May 2024. Photo = Courtesy of Yonhap News 사진 확대 Kim Min-jong is interviewing his return home after winning the men’s +100kg gold medal at the 37th International Judo Federation World Championships in May 2024. Photo = Courtesy of Yonhap News

+100 kg gold 1 silver 3 bronze 6

2024 World Championships Gold Medal

Silver Medal at the 2021 Asian Championships

silver medal at the 2024 Olympics

Silver medal at the 2024 Asian Championships

2019 World Championship Bronze Medal

2019 Asian Championship Bronze Medal

2022 World Championship Bronze Medal

2023 Asian Games Bronze Medal

Bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships

2025 Asian Championships Bronze Medal

[Kang Daeho, MK Sports Reporter]