South Korea's Jeju Island hosted its debut mixed martial arts event this past Saturday when Road Fighting Championship 53 landed ashore. The main event $1 million lightweight tournament culminated at the Halla Gymnasium with tournament challenger Mansour Barnaoui (19-4) securing a first-round submission victory over now former champion A-Sol Kwon (21-11).
In the openweight category, heavy hitter Aorigele proved victorious once again, using his sizable fist advantage to knock out short-notice opponent Jae Hyuk Heo. The main event bore witness to another exciting finish when firefighter Dong Guk Shin earned a TKO victory over Hayashi Tamotsu. Shin is now 2-0 against Tamostu.
Road FC 53 saw a few more quick finishes throughout the night, including Tae In Kim's ground-and-pound win over Dong Hwan Lim.
Though the evening of fighting concluded with Roach FC 53, it began with Young Guns 42. Main event combatants Park Seok Han and Kubo Kenta traded hard leg kicks in the first frame, with Park later snatching a rear-naked choke submission victory in the second round. Both Park and Kenta made their professional debuts.