Denis Kang born September 17, 1977 is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Kang has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Impact FC, M-1 Global, K-1 HERO’S, ROAD FC, and Pancrase. In his prime he was ranked one of the top fighters in the world and scored notable wins over Pat Healy, Marvin Eastman, Akihiro Gono and Murilo Rua.
Background
Kang was born in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to a Korean father and French mother. He and his family relocated to the Canary Islands and finally North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1988 when he was 11 years old. After some years from their arrival to Vancouver, he started taking Hapkido lessons by encouragement of his parents. Kang transitioned into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in high school because he wanted to improve in his ground game more than practice self-defense.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kang’s MMA career began in 1998 at the Ultimate Warrior Challenge in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kang was successful in his debut fight, winning by submission (rear naked choke) over Eric Harcrow. Kang would go on to win his next 2 fights before going 2–5 over his next 8 with one no contest against Dennis Hallman. He would go 7–7 with one no contest in his first 15 fights, with a few convincing defeats.
After winning five of his next six fights, Kang signed a contract with Spirit MC, a South Korea MMA organization. Denis went 5–0 while fighting in Korea and was crowned the Spirit MC Heavyweight Champion. Following this, Denis relocated to Florida and joined American Top Team.
It was at this time that Kang caught the attention of the PRIDE Fighting Championships. Kang signed a contract with PRIDE and made his debut at PRIDE Bushido 6, where he defeated Japanese opponent Takahiro Oba via armbar at 4:24 of round one. Under the Korean banner, Denis went on to win his next two fights in PRIDE, with a victory coming over Englishman Mark Weir at PRIDE Bushido 10. In between fights for Pride, Denis fought American Albert Basconcelles and knocked him out within 12 seconds of the opening bell. At Bushido 11, Kang continued his winning streak by knocking out Chute Boxe member Murilo “Ninja” Rua in 15 seconds in the first round of the PRIDE Bushido Welterweight (183 lb) Grand Prix. At Bushido 12, Denis submitted Armenian Amar Suloev via rear naked choke to advance to the semi-final round of the Welterweight Grand Prix. With this win, Kang was then 18–0–1 in his last 19 contests. However, after advancing through the semi-final round of the Bushido tournament and beating Akihiro Gono on November 5, 2006 he was defeated by Kazuo Misaki in the final at Bushido 13. Kang had torn his right biceps muscle earlier that night in his win over Gono.
Kang had only one match in 2007 after breaking his hand (an injury that will reappear over and over again) in a match against Jungkyu Choi for the Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship on March 11. Kang won via unanimous decision but was unable to compete for several months.
After the contract termination of PRIDE, Kang moved to K-1 Hero’s maintaining the championship of Spirit MC. Kang made his K-1 Hero’s debut on October 28, 2007, in “K-1 Hero’s in Seoul”. His opponent was Yoshihiro Akiyama who was returning to MMA after a 10-month suspension. Kang lost via TKO.
Kang next fight was on April 29, 2008, in the opening round of the Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round, losing to Gegard Mousasi via triangle choke.
On August 30, 2008, Kang defended his Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship by defeating Kim Jae Young by TKO due to strikes at 1:31 of the first round.
Kang defeated UFC veteran Marvin Eastman by TKO on October 25, 2008, at “Raw Combat: Redemption” in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The fight lasted 48 seconds.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kang made his UFC debut on January 17, 2009 against Alan Belcher despite suffering from ankle injury. Although Kang controlled the fight, he lost by guillotine choke at the end of round two after a takedown attempt.
Kang redeemed himself with a victory over Xavier Foupa-Pokam at UFC 97 by unanimous decision.
Kang faced Michael Bisping on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105. In an interview about his fight with Bisping, Kang revealed he wanted a title fight with Anderson Silva. Bisping TKO’d Kang in the 2nd round. Even though Bisping was the crowd favourite in his home town Manchester and Kang was being booed on, Kang dropped Bisping with a right hand in the first round. Kang followed Bisping to the floor and attempted submissions, but Bisping defended well and neutralised Kang’s attacks despite Kang briefly having full mount. In the 2nd round Bisping secured a single-leg takedown and the momentum of the fight shifted : he unleashed a vicious ground and pound attack on the Canadian, which Kang failed to recover from. The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honours, giving both Kang and Bisping a $40,000 bonus check.
Kang was cut from the UFC on Dec. 9 2009, along with Brock Larson, Rolando Delgado and Jason Dent. Kang announced that he had signed with W1 MMA, and that he would fight for their vacant middleweight title on December 18, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec.
Post-UFC
Denis defeated Dae Won Kim at W-1: Judgment day. Kang faced off against former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho on July 18, 2010 at an Impact Fighting Championships event. The fight was declared a split draw.
Denis joined the Korean MMA promotion ROAD FC by signing a multi-fight non-exclusive deal.
Denis lost to Melvin Manhoef by KO due to a knee to the body early in the first round of their DREAM 18 New Year’s Eve fight at the end of 2012.
Personal life
His youngest brother, Julien Kang, is an actor and model in South Korea.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- PRIDE Fighting Championships
- 2006 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-Up
- Spirit MC
- Spirit MC Heavyweight (+80 kg) Championship (One time; Last)
- Spirit MC Grand Prix 2004 Championship
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- ROAD FC
- Fight of the Night (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | hide | |
|---|---|---|
| 55 matches | 35 wins | 16 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 6 |
| By submission | 16 | 8 |
| By decision | 6 | 2 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| No contests | 2 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 35–16–2 (2) | Melvin Manhoef | TKO (knee to the body) | DREAM 18 | December 31, 2012 | 1 | 0:50 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 35–15–2 (2) | Hae Suk Son | KO (punches) | Road FC 8: Bitter Rivals | June 16, 2012 | 1 | 4:57 | Wonju, South Korea | |
| Loss | 34–15–2 (2) | Shungo Oyama | TKO (knees) | Road FC 5: Night of Champions | December 3, 2011 | 1 | 4:30 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Loss | 34–14–2 (2) | Seung Bae Whi | TKO (knees) | Road FC 3: Explosion | July 24, 2011 | 2 | 3:58 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Loss | 34–13–2 (2) | Jesse Taylor | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Battlefield Fight League 8: Island Beatdown | May 28, 2011 | 1 | 1:57 | Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 34–12–2 (2) | Eun Soo Lee | Decision (unanimous) | Road FC 2: Alive | April 16, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Seoul, South Korea | Light Heavyweight bout. |
| Draw | 33–12–2 (2) | Paulo Filho | Draw (split) | Impact FC 2 | July 18, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 33–12–1 (2) | Dae Won Kim | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | W-1: Judgment day | June 19, 2010 | 1 | 1:49 | Laval, Quebec, Canada | |
| Loss | 32–12–1 (2) | Michael Bisping | TKO (knees to the body & punches) | UFC 105 | November 14, 2009 | 2 | 4:24 | Manchester, England | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 32–11–1 (2) | Xavier Foupa-Pokam | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 97 | April 18, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Loss | 31–11–1 (2) | Alan Belcher | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 93 | January 17, 2009 | 2 | 4:36 | Dublin, Ireland | |
| Win | 31–10–1 (2) | Marvin Eastman | KO (punches) | Raw Combat: Redemption | October 25, 2008 | 1 | 0:48 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | |
| Win | 30–10–1 (2) | Jae Young Kim | KO (punches and stomp) | Spirit MC | August 30, 2008 | 1 | 1:13 | Seoul, South Korea | Defended the Spirit MC Heavyweight (+80 kg) Championship. |
| Loss | 29–10–1 (2) | Gegard Mousasi | Submission (triangle choke) | Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round | April 29, 2008 | 1 | 3:10 | Saitama, Japan | DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round. |
| Loss | 29–9–1 (2) | Yoshihiro Akiyama | KO (punches) | Hero’s 2007 in Korea | October 27, 2007 | 1 | 4:45 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 29–8–1 (2) | Jung Gyu Choi | Decision (majority) | Spirit MC | March 11, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Seoul, South Korea | Defended the Spirit MC Heavyweight (+80 kg) Championship. |
| Loss | 28–8–1 (2) | Kazuo Misaki | Decision (split) | PRIDE Bushido 13 | November 5, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Final. |
| Win | 28–7–1 (2) | Akihiro Gono | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 13 | November 5, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinal. |
| Win | 27–7–1 (2) | Amar Suloev | Submission (one-arm strangle) | PRIDE Bushido 12 | August 26, 2006 | 1 | 4:10 | Nagoya, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 26–7–1 (2) | Murilo Rua | KO (punches) | PRIDE Bushido 11 | June 4, 2006 | 1 | 0:15 | Saitama, Japan | PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Opening Round. |
| Win | 25–7–1 (2) | Albert Basconcelles | TKO (punches) | Spirit MC | April 22, 2006 | 1 | 0:12 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 24–7–1 (2) | Mark Weir | Submission (knees) | PRIDE Bushido 10 | April 2, 2006 | 1 | 4:55 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 23–7–1 (2) | Ron Fields | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Absolute Fighting Championships 14 | December 10, 2005 | 1 | 2:46 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | |
| NC | 22–7–1 (2) | Robert Villegas | No Contest | Spirit MC | October 29, 2005 | 1 | 0:00 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 22–7–1 (1) | Andrei Semenov | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Bushido 8 | July 17, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Win | 21–7–1 (1) | Takahiro Oba | Submission (armbar) | PRIDE Bushido 6 | April 3, 2005 | 1 | 4:24 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 20–7–1 (1) | Alexei Vezelozorov | Submission (choke) | M-1 MFC: Heavyweight GP | December 4, 2004 | 1 | 1:17 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 19–7–1 (1) | Jin Ho Yang | TKO (punches) | Spirit MC | September 11, 2004 | 1 | 0:49 | Seoul, South Korea | Spirit MC Grand Prix 2004 Final; Won the Spirit MC Heavyweight (+80 kg) Championship. |
| Win | 18–7–1 (1) | Jae Young Kim | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Spirit MC | September 11, 2004 | 1 | 1:38 | Seoul, South Korea | Spirit MC Grand Prix 2004 Semifinal |
| Win | 17–7–1 (1) | Junpei Hamada | Submission (armbar) | Spirit MC | September 11, 2004 | 1 | 2:35 | Seoul, South Korea | Spirit MC Grand Prix 2004 Quarterfinal |
| Win | 16–7–1 (1) | Kobus Huisamen | TKO (punches) | Spirit MC | June 12, 2004 | 1 | 1:06 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 15–7–1 (1) | Hyun Chul Cho | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Spirit MC | April 10, 2004 | 1 | 2:06 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 14–7–1 (1) | Hyung Jun Kim | TKO (punches) | Spirit MC | February 7, 2004 | 1 | 1:13 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 13–7–1 (1) | Jae Young Kim | TKO (punches) | Spirit MC | February 7, 2004 | 1 | 0:38 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Draw | 12–7–1 (1) | Andrei Semenov | Draw | M-1 MFC: Russia vs. The World 7 | December 5, 2003 | 1 | 10:00 | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 12–7 (1) | Stephan Potvin | TKO (punches) | TKO Major League MMA | September 6, 2003 | 3 | 2:22 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 11–7 (1) | Kaipo Kalama | Decision (majority) | SB 30: Collision Course | June 13, 2003 | 3 | 3:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 10–7 (1) | Brendan Seguin | Submission (armbar) | SB 30: Collision Course | June 13, 2003 | 1 | 2:24 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 9–7 (1) | Keith Rockel | KO (punch) | USMMA 3: Ring of Fury | May 3, 2003 | 2 | 2:59 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 8–7 (1) | Chris Peak | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Freestyle Fighting 4 | April 4, 2003 | 1 | 0:57 | Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Loss | 7–7 (1) | Jason Miller | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Extreme Challenge 50 | February 23, 2003 | 2 | 1:41 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
| Loss | 7–6 (1) | Joe Doerksen | Submission (triangle choke) | UCC 11: The Next Level | October 11, 2002 | 1 | 4:49 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 7–5 (1) | Pat Healy | Submission (guillotine choke) | Rumble in the Ring 7 | July 20, 2002 | 1 | 3:42 | Auburn, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 6–5 (1) | Shane Biever | Submission (armlock) | World Freestyle Fighting 2 | July 20, 2002 | 1 | 3:03 | Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | |
| NC | 5–5 (1) | Dennis Hallman | No Contest | World Freestyle Fighting 1 | April 13, 2002 | 2 | 3:15 | Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | Hallman accidentally headbutted Kang & opened a cut above the eye. |
| Loss | 5–5 | Marty Armendarez | TKO (punches) | IFC WC 15 – Warriors Challenge 15 | May 13, 2001 | 3 | 3:45 | Oroville, California, United States | |
| Loss | 5–4 | Osami Shibuya | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pancrase: Proof 3 | August 31, 2001 | 1 | 3:52 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 5–3 | Keiichiro Yamamiya | Decision (majority) | Pancrase: Trans 7 | December 4, 2000 | 2 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–2 | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (back injury) | Pancrase: 2000 Anniversary Show | September 24, 2000 | 1 | 3:43 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 4–2 | Lonnie Canida | TKO (punches) | Western Canada’s Toughest | March 18, 2000 | 1 | 4:06 | Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Joe Slick | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Extreme Challenge 24 | May 15, 1999 | 1 | 5:53 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Jacen Flynn | Submission (guillotine choke) | Bas Rutten Invitational 2 | April 24, 1999 | 1 | 4:07 | Littleton, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Tom Bolger | Submission (triangle choke) | 1 | 1:55 | ||||
| Win | 2–0 | Fadi Habib | TKO (punches) | Ultimate Warrior Challenge 2 | November 1, 1998 | 1 | 0:53 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 1–0 | Eric Harcrow | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ultimate Warrior Challenge | August 2, 1998 | 1 | 0:15 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Kickboxing record
| hideKickboxing record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 wins, 1 loss | ||||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss |  Kaoklai Kaennorsing |
KO (Right Hook) | K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Seoul | July 7, 2004 | 1 | 1:48 | Seoul, South Korea | |
Submission grappling record
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss |  Andy Reese |
Points | (Under 87.9 kg) |