Doo Ho Choi is set to return to action against Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 68 on February 4, 2023.
“The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi will be making his return to the Octagon, after sitting on the sidelines for over three years, to face Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 68.
Asians Reppin’!
???@KoreanSuperBoy7, @TatsuroTaira, and Jun Yong Park get their first assignment of the New Year at The Apex! pic.twitter.com/IimM2HP1yf
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) December 28, 2022
Choi has been battling through injuries and dealing with the reality of three straight defeats, so his time away from the UFC kind of came at a perfect time. Doo Ho exploded into the UFC with three first round knockouts, looking like a world beater destined for a shot at a title. But then he lost a close decision to Cub Swanson, in what was one of the greatest fights that you will ever see. In fact, that fight was so crazy that it was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing.
From there, Choi suffered a second round knockout loss to the heavy handed Jeremy Stephens, and then again was taken out in the second round by Charles Jourdain in his very next fight. He endured a significant amount of damage in his last three UFC matches, so hopefully three years away from competition has rejuvenated the gunslinger.
A lot has changed since Choi last fought in December of 2019. Of Choi’s six UFC opponents, only two of them are still in the UFC. There’s Cub Swanson who is on the cusp of retirement, and then Charles Jourdain who went 1-2 in 2022. As excited as everyone is to see Choi back in the cage, it also feels like Doo Ho’s job could very well be on the line here.
The very same thing could be said about Choi’s return opponent, Kyle Nelson. Out of five UFC matches, Nelson has only come out on top in one of them. He lone victory came when he gave Polo Reyes his UFC walking papers with a speedy 96-second knockout back in 2019. That means neither Choi nor Nelson currently have a win over an active UFC fighter, and if the loser here leaves town, then that fact will still remain.
The February 4 card is stacked with South Korean talent, as it was supposed to be hosted in the country, until former headliner Chan Sung Jung’s injury scrapped those plans. Check out the rest of the UFC Vegas 68 lineup:
Main card:
Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivak: Heavyweight
Da Un Jung vs. Devin Clark: Light Heavyweight
Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson: Featherweight
Marcin Tybura vs. Blagoy Ivanov: Heavyweight
Prelims:
Ji Yeon Kim vs. Mandy Bohm: (W) Flyweight
Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Adam Fugitt: Welterweight
Tatsuro Taira vs. Jesus Aguilar: Flyweight
Jun Yong Park vs. Denis Tiuliulin: Middleweight