SpiritMC Brings Korean Flavor to MMA

by: DarthMolen August 29 2007

There’s a great article up on Sherdog about a budding promotion in Korea that follows a PRIDE mold, SpiritMC. SpiritMC invested a couple million dollars this last month into Pro-Elite and is looking to move into the world collective.

One of the fighters in the organization is ex PRIDE standout Dennis Kang and he currently holds their Heavyweight title. Here is a brief synopsis of the structure of the organization

For those of you less acquainted with SpiritMC, here is a brief synopsis of its structure and rules. The promotion holds three types of events: a) Amateur League, b) the so-called Inter-league (international amateur league), which showcases international amateur fighters and mixes in the occasional professional fight card, and c) the numbered SpiritMC events showcasing exclusively professional matches between both local and international fighters. Currently, SpiritMC showcases three weight classes: welterweight (154 pounds and under), middleweight (176 pounds) and heavyweight (178 and above). Non-tournament fights feature what came to be known as PRIDE rules: nostalgic goodies like stomps, strikes in the four-point position, knees on the ground, and soccer kicks. The round structure is the typical three five-minute round format that's used throughout much of the MMA world, while Grand Prix matches feature the same rules, but with two rounds instead of three. Title matches have the option of an extra fourth round in the event judges score a draw.

They recently held their 12th numbered event on August 19th and the inset picture shows one of their matches between Jung-Gyu Choi and Dool-Hee Lee. The inverted position started off as a keylock and then transitioned to the sick armbar pictured.

With MMA taking a more up-front position in the world of sports and the demise of PRIDE FC as a powerhouse in the International community, look for Spirit MC to stand out and garner more recognition.