by Tuck Fheman

Round 1

You will not find the term "basic income" in the UFC. In what will go down as one of the best UFC fights in history between two fairly unknown fighters, Dong Hyun Kim and Polo Reyes battered each other relentlessly from the opening bell. Kim stunned Reyes early in Round 1 with a short left cross delivered as he himself was taking a shot from Reyes who staggered backwards against the cage covering up only to eat two uppercuts from Kim which again staggered Reyes momentarily.

Kim proceeded to clinch Reyes, which should have given him the advantage since he is known for his Judo, but out of nowhere and seemingly about to be knocked out, Reyes delivered a short right elbow that sent Kim to the mat. Reyes pounced on Kim and appeared to nearly end the fight as the referee rushed in while Reyes delivered a flurry of ground and pound punches. But Kim showed his toughness and scrambled to his feet only to take a viscous well timed knee to the face, which would have finished mere mortals. However Kim stood his ground to absorb a right hook that buckled him, followed by a few straight jabs.

This only seemed to fire up Kim as he gathered himself quickly and continued to stay in the pocket with Reyes who was attempting to finish the fight right then and there, putting everything he had into every blow he delivered. Eventually Reyes caught Kim with a straight left jab that sent him to the floor once again, but Kim was able to cover up and eventually get back to his feet with 1:50 left in the 1st round.

Despite the damage to Kim, he continued coming at Reyes and dealt a nice Muay Thai knee to his head which briefly stunned Reyes, but both men continued on their feet with a feverish pace. With less than a minute left in the round and Kim's right eye bruised, swollen and bloody, Kim tried to take it to the ground, but Reyes would have no part of it and back to their feet they went to resume their grueling duel.

Round 2

Before the start of the 2nd Round, referee Mike Beltran called in the ring Doctor to take a look at Kim's eye. The Dr. quickly said that he could fight on and thankfully this great matchup resumed. The duo continued trading punches at a pace you don't normally see in MMA, and these were not just glancing blows, both men were swinging for the fence with each punch loaded with a desire to end the fight instantly. But both men continued to stand and take the punishment to the cheers and delight of the sparse crowd that showed up for the first preliminary fight of the night.

With 3 minutes left in the 2nd Round, Kim caught Reyes with a right cross that sent Reyes stumbling backwards across the Octagon. As Kim came towards Reyes to finish him off, Reyes grabbed Kim in a Muay Thai clinch and delivered five consecutive knees to Kim's body while Kim threw weak punches at Reyes head. The tide seemed to be turning at this point as both men began to show their exhaustion.

Around the 2 minute mark in the 2nd Round Kim hit Reyes with a short quick left that brought a grimace to Reyes' face and had him wobbly. At this point of the fight Reyes had thrown 212 punches and landing 104, while Kim's 128 punches had landed 68 times.

With 1:50 remaining in the 2nd Round, Reyes landed a succession of combinations on Kim that had him reeling until he lunged at Reyes legs and fell to the ground. The fight appeared to be ending, but Kim was somehow able to get to his feet and quickly take Reyes to the ground. Kim pinched Reyes against the cage and tried to take his back but Reyes was able to spin out. The center ring punch-fest continued as they traded punches like a scripted movie, each man barely able to stand as punch after punch landed on their bloodied battered faces.

With 30 seconds left in the 2nd Round Kim attempted a throw and simply fell to the ground out of exhaustion. Reyes pounced on Kim but he was able to hold on until the bell ended the Round. Each man hurt the other through the first two rounds with repeated near knockout blows. Both withstood the others onslaught of punches and knees to enter the third and final round.

Round 3

Reyes came out for the 3rd Round looking the fresher fighter, despite an early low blow from Kim, likely due to the numerous 2nd round body shots he delivered to Kim. With 3:12 left in the 3rd Round, Reyes delivered a beautiful combination. Reyes threw a left cross that just grazed Kim's chin, but the next short straight right to Kim's mouth ended the fight instantly as he fell to his knees and finally dropped to his back as Reyes pounced on top for one final hammer fist before referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight. The fight was reminiscent of the 2005 Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight in the TUF 1 finale. It will be a pleasure to watch these two men continue their careers in the UFC, and I would not be surprised if a rematch is set up down the road.

Update: Corrected some grammar & sperring errors.