Women’s kickboxing star Kim So-yul, 26, made it two wins in a row in her ONE Championship mixed martial arts debut, this time defeating a top European judoka.

Kim submitted 2012 European Judo Union (EJU) Women’s Under-17 Championships -44kg runner-up Noelle Grandjean (27-FR) via triangle choke in the opening round of ONE Friday Fights 28 at Lumpini Stadium (capacity 5,000) in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov. 11.

This is the second consecutive victory for the former kickboxing star, who now competes in the women’s atomweight division of Asia’s largest organization, ONE Championship.

“ONE Friday Fights” is a brand launched by ONE Championship in Thailand in January 2023. It centers on Muay Thai, with kickboxing and mixed martial arts added to the mix, and is held on Fridays at the iconic Lumpini Stadium.

Kim rode the momentum of his victory over Suris Manfredi (35-France), a former K-1 -52kg titleholder, at ONE Friday Fights 7 in March this year to defeat the grandmaster.

At ONE Friday Fights 28 in Lumpini, the crowd was one-sidedly in favor of the Thai-French-Dutch fighter.

However, Kim’s grappling submission of the European Youth Championships silver medalist in judo came just 3:57 into the second round of the tournament’s first bout.

The world-class kickboxer Manfredi was followed by the top European judoka Grandjean. Fight Matrix, a mixed martial arts ranking system, further upgraded Kim’s rating from 12th to 8th in the world in the women’s atomweight division.

Granjang gained confidence in her striking in her first ONE Championship bout in October 2022, when she knocked out International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF)-World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) Under-17 Unified Championships winner Lee Vivins (21-USA) with a punch.

“Kim Soyul survived a storming first round onslaught after allowing a devastating right hand to land from Grandmaster,” the official ONE Championships website said, describing the situation before a successful second round comeback.

Kim drew on her 6-1 record in the kickboxing tournament Max FC. The championship’s website said, “The Korean puncher increased the speed of his strikes and applied heavy pressure. When the slowed-down Grandmaster looked for a judo finish, he instead took the mount and secured a triangle choke,” the website analyzed.먹튀검증

Even before Manfredi forced the submission with a guillotine choke, Kim landed a good right hand against the LaTu Hae (Myanmar Boxing) world champion that sent him to the ground. For the second fight in a row, Kim showed a high level of mixed martial arts proficiency.