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Winning his second straight fight, Kwon Won Il is full steam ahead. At ONE Championship: Unbreakable II, he put away Rui Chen with a body shot in round three. Now, Won Il looks to continue his momentum and make his way to the ONE Championship bantamweight title.
Check out our first interview with Kwon Won Il below!
Kwon Won Il: Korean Inspiration
Coming off of a finish at ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 4, Kwon Won Il is ready for what’s next for the Korean prospect.
It’s always great to get a finish in a major mixed martial arts event. The sport is built around the finish and getting one, albeit not always the right thing, gets priority over a decision. Kwon Won Il was happy with how he performed but is looking to be even better of a fighter. “I feel happy but I still have more to improve on.”
A finish with a body shot generally requires targeting and softening up the side first. Kwon Won Il says that wasn’t his focus, instead, he was looking to focus on being a complete martial artist. It wasn’t something him and his camp saw in tape study, it was an accumulation of work in general. Won Il says, “I didn’t focus on body shots only but I kept practicing on every aspect.”
What’s next for Kwon Won Il?
With two back to back finishes, Kwon Won Il is ready to make a run for the title. But, there’s one name Won Il wants next. He is a fan of bangers when it comes to matchups. There’s one name in particular that brings that type of matchup in ONE Championship.
“I want John Lineker next. If not, I would like to fight any top rankers who would get me to the title shot.”
After his win, Won Il cut his promo in English as opposed to his native language of Korean. He looked at it as an opportunity to have more people get to know him and plans on speaking more English as he gets better.
“People all over the world watch MMA. I love the Korean language and of course I’m way more comfortable using Korean, but I wanted to use English so that I can be more known internationally. I know it’s not perfect but I’m planning to use it more and more.”
In our first interview, Kwon Won Il said he hopes to be an inspiration to Korean martial artists to delve more into MMA.
My goal is that I hope I can create a MMA boom in Korea because of me. Like all the people in Korea will go crazy over MMA events and MMA will be one of the most popular sports in Korea.
Kwon Won Il: Korean Inspiration
More people are starting to notice Won Il in Korea. But his work on that front is far from over. He says, “I think I’m becoming a bit more popular and known compared to before. I’m going to work harder so that I’ll be more well known.”
Every fighter looks up to someone growing up. That idol serves as a goalpost to strive to reach. I asked who would Kwon Won Il choose to spar or fight with throughout history, and his answer was the most legendary name.
“I would love to try challenging Bruce Lee. He’s my idol. I want to learn all his movements.” Won Il continues on saying, “Actually, anyone who’s in a higher level than me, I would love to challenge to get better.”
Kwon Won Il has now won two straight and is looking to continue his momentum through ONE’s bantamweight division. Follow him on Instagram to follow his fight journey.
