“The Kid” Kim Woon Kyoum

Status: Former ONE Athlete

Born and raised in Namyangju, a city on the outskirts of Seoul, Kim Woon Kyoum’s parents separated when he was just 8 years old, which left him to be primarily raised by his grandmother. He began training in taekwondo at an early age to burn off excess energy and learn discipline, but it was not until he saw one of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s famed high kick knockouts in K-1 that he fell in love with martial arts at the age of 18. 

Kim soon added Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts training to his regimen, but it was not until 2018 – almost a decade later – that he got his big break. It only took 90 seconds for Kim to earn a coveted ONE Championship contract on the very first season of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series with a spectacular knockout of Muhammad Islam. 

Now that he has the opportunity to prove himself on the global stage, his main goal is to be able to say he competed against the world’s greatest competitors and tried his best. He also hopes to become a role model and inspire fans, as well as the next generation of mixed martial artists.