Dong Hyun-Kim hasn’t been getting a lot of publicity from the media heading into his fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 132. It’s unusual that someone with a career record of 14-0 (4-0, 1 No Contest in UFC) would go flying under the radar, but that won’t be the case with one more victory.
In fact, Kim believes that with a victory over Condit he is ready for the big time.
“I’d like to fight GSP right after this fight, but I think that I’d probably have to fight one more fight,” Kim told MMAjunkie.com. “But I really don’t want to think anything past this fight.”
The welterweight division is starved for championship contenders right now because St-Pierre has rolled through everyone else. That’s part of the reason why Nick Diaz was brought in from Strikeforce to challenge for the title.
Kim has the pedigree and record to warrant championship consideration, though he does acknowledge that he will likely have to take on one more fight before he gets that shot. Plus, it’s not like he has been fighting a who’s who of top flight competition thus far. His best win is against either Amir Sadollah and or Nate Diaz.
If he keeps winning, certainly he will be in line for a title shot. But right now the resume isn’t exactly screaming title contender. There are undefeated records, like the one that Anderson Silva has in UFC (13-0, 11 via KO and submission, 9-0 in championship fights), and there are undefeated records, which is what Kim has right now.
It’s not Kim’s fault. All young fighters have to start out at the bottom of the barrel and work their way up to the top competition. He is moving up in competition, which is good, but he still has work to do before he gets to the top of the welterweight division.
While another fight is likely in store for Kim, UFC has to look wherever they can to find people who deserve a title shot, and Kim’s resume gets better and better with each fight. I mean if Condit is in line for a title fight with a win over Kim, Kim should at least be considered for a title shot if he defeats Condit on Saturday night.