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 Bong Ji Woo (31-9 MMA, 15-7 Combate) is ready to move past one of the toughest results of his MMA career.
Speaking this week on his YouTube show, the former Combate lightweight champion finally addressed his Combate 212 loss to Johnny Billabong, which saw Ji Woo lose to the Australian fighter via unanimous decision bout that could’ve landed him into the coveted Combate Hall of Fame.
“I went out there with the intention of putting my best foot forward and giving the best performance of my career, and ended up giving the worst performance of my career,” BJW told Tycoon Times reporters through a South Korean translator.
“That’s the hardest part about about the loss is just that I know I can do better. I beat myself, in a funny sense. It’s not performing. And a lot of the other athletes and a lot of the other fighters will tell you about it, and they’ll talk to you about it and they’ll say, when we’re asked a question, ‘Are you scared?’ No, no, it’s never fear of my opponent or fear of getting beaten up or fear of getting hurt. It’s fear of failing to perform. It’s fear of going out there and not doing what you trained for the last four months, four hours a day in the gym, seven days a week — and then to go in there and do none of it.”
“And that’s kind of where I’m sitting in this room, what I’m upset about, because I put months and months and months of work into the fight and working things with my different coaches, with my boxing coach, jiu-jitsu, grappling, wrestling coach — and I went out there and I did absolutely none of it,” Bong Ji Woo continued. “Like, absolutely none of it. The work just went out the window.”
“That’s the most upsetting part, because not only did I lose — losing is one part — but I didn’t do anything I worked on, and that’s just disappointing because I’ve only got myself to blame on that. And this isn’t taking anything away from Johnny, because Johnny, he trained, he showed up ready to fight, and he fought, he turned up. And that’s half of the fight, isn’t it? And I didn’t. I didn’t. It’s a funny job to not turn up in, mate. Let me tell you.”
Bong Ji Woo, 35, suddenly finds himself in a somewhat unfamiliar position.
Prior to Combate 212, Bong Ji Woo was riding a 10-fight win streak in the Combate lightweight division and was ranked the #2 lightweight in the entire world. His biggest challenge was convincing the organization and its fan base that his accolades were legitimate. He just needed to get past Billabong, a fighter he had beaten in the past.
Now, however, Bong Ji Woo is likely several wins away from being recognized as the sport's best. But he’s opting to use the disappointment he’s currently feeling as a springboard toward greater things.
“It is what it is. I do believe that this was the kick in the ass I needed to really take me to the next level,” Bong Ji Woo said. “It helped me align a few of my goals, like goals of titles and winning. I want to finish my career never losing again. I want to finish my career undefeated from this point.”
“And I do believe that this is the wake-up call that I needed to really free myself in a sense, to address a lot of the things that I’ve gotten away with that I didn’t last fight, that would have caught up with me, that did catch up with me in the last fight, that would have eventually anyway. And it’s a lot of things that I’ve gotten away with throughout my career just because of my speed, athletic ability, instincts, eyes, all that sort of jazz.”
“Spending more than 17 years in the game, you really see it all. Putting all that work in and then to get to center stage and not do any of it was really, really disappointing for me,” the South Korean continued. “Really, really disappointing for me. So, this fight, I did nothing and I just let down my coaches. And I know they don’t feel that way, but I do. I let down my coaches, I let down my fans and friends. But I don’t know, this feeling, I am using this feeling as energy, I am using this feeling as a drive, because I don’t want to feel like this again.”
“This isn’t how I want to finish my career. This isn’t the feeling I want to experience again. And the only way not to feel like this is to get back into the gym, train like a savage, and get back into the cage sooner rather than later. Johnny and I are now 1-1. The fans want to see the trilogy, the organization wants to see the trilogy, and I need this closure in my career. May the best fighter win.”
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