Seok Hyeon Ko
The Korean Tyson
South Korea
Suffers first UFC defeat
Ko lost to Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Oklahoma City.
ANALYSIS
It was the first time in three UFC bouts (plus an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series) that Ko faced any sort of adversity and he didn't handle it well. He landed the more notable blows in Round 1, winning the frame on all three scorecards before appearing to tire. Lebosnoyani by no means dominated the final two rounds, but he landed the more meaningful blows and mixed in three takedowns over the course of the final ten minutes. Set to turn 33 years of age in late September, Ko's roster spot is plenty secure, but he needs a bounce back performance his next time out.
It was the first time in three UFC bouts (plus an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series) that Ko faced any sort of adversity and he didn't handle it well. He landed the more notable blows in Round 1, winning the frame on all three scorecards before appearing to tire. Lebosnoyani by no means dominated the final two rounds, but he landed the more meaningful blows and mixed in three takedowns over the course of the final ten minutes. Set to turn 33 years of age in late September, Ko's roster spot is plenty secure, but he needs a bounce back performance his next time out.
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Booked vs. Lebosnoyani
Ko will take on Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani in a Welterweight bout at UFC OKC on July 18, per Marcel Dorff of Heavy on Sports.
Won't face Jacobe Smith
Ko won't face Jacobe Smith at UFC Houston on Feb. 21 due to an undisclosed injury, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
The nature of Ko's injury is uncertain, but it's been confirmed that he won't be able to face Smith. Instead, the latter will take on Josiah Harrell. Ko is 2-0 at the UFC level in his career but will have to wait to get back in the octagon. His previous bout was a win over Phil Rowe on Nov. 1, 2025.
The nature of Ko's injury is uncertain, but it's been confirmed that he won't be able to face Smith. Instead, the latter will take on Josiah Harrell. Ko is 2-0 at the UFC level in his career but will have to wait to get back in the octagon. His previous bout was a win over Phil Rowe on Nov. 1, 2025.
Next fight booked
Ko will face off against Jacobe Smith at UFC Houston on Feb. 21, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Ko will look to keep his six-fight win streak alive against Smith after most recently taking down Philip Rowe at UFC Fight Night 263. The 32-year-old Korean fighter currently boasts a perfect 2-0 record with the UFC.
Ko will look to keep his six-fight win streak alive against Smith after most recently taking down Philip Rowe at UFC Fight Night 263. The 32-year-old Korean fighter currently boasts a perfect 2-0 record with the UFC.
Remains perfect in UFC
Ko defeated Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was nearly a carbon copy of Ko's UFC debut win over Oban Elliott in June. He simply leaned on his wrestling over and over to smother Rowe. All told, Ko landed all four of his takedown attempts for 13:10 worth of control time. Ko must be ridiculously strong because neither Rowe nor Elliott came remotely close to escaping once he ended up in top position. We'll see how Ko looks when he starts going up against better competition, but the early returns here have been fantastic.
This was nearly a carbon copy of Ko's UFC debut win over Oban Elliott in June. He simply leaned on his wrestling over and over to smother Rowe. All told, Ko landed all four of his takedown attempts for 13:10 worth of control time. Ko must be ridiculously strong because neither Rowe nor Elliott came remotely close to escaping once he ended up in top position. We'll see how Ko looks when he starts going up against better competition, but the early returns here have been fantastic.
Facing Rowe in Vegas
Ko will take on Phil Rowe in a welterweight bout at UFC Vegas 110 on Nov. 1, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Ko is coming off a strong victory in his UFC debut, disposing of Oban Elliot via unanimous decision in June. He'll now look to start 2-0 in the promotion with a bout slated against Rowe, who is just 4-3 in the UFC although he on his last fight versus Ange Loosa.
Ko is coming off a strong victory in his UFC debut, disposing of Oban Elliot via unanimous decision in June. He'll now look to start 2-0 in the promotion with a bout slated against Rowe, who is just 4-3 in the UFC although he on his last fight versus Ange Loosa.