📅 EXACT DATE RANGE: September 15 – October 6, 2021
📍 LOCATION: Dragon MMA Gym, Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
🥊 JI-HO'S PRO RECORD: 2 Wins • 0 Losses • 2 KO Finishes • UNRANKED
📊 PRIMARY TARGET: 🇷🇺 Alexei "The Bear" Volkov | 5-0-2 | 3 Finishes | Sambo Black Belt 🥋
🪙 LOCKED PURSE: ₩20M Base / ₩20M Win / ₩10M FOTN | ~₩38.5M Post-Tax If He Wins ✅
🚨 RUMOR STATUS: Volkov knee injury unconfirmed; team promised official update 7 days from Sep 8 → 4 days overdue with no word.
⏳ SEP 15, 8:02 AM – THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT NEVER CAME 📱
Ji-Ho stood by the gym's front door, thumb swiping down on his Instagram feed for the 47th time in 10 minutes 🔄. It had been exactly 7 days since Volkov's team posted that photo of him in the knee brace, promising a fight status update in one week. That deadline had passed 4 hours prior. Radio silence. No post. No story. No statement. Just deleted comments on old fight clips and locked accounts from his training partners 🚫.
"Put the phone down, Ji-Ho."
Coach Kim's voice cut through the quiet gym, sharp as a knife 🔪. He stood by the mat, arms crossed, face unreadable. Next to him was a short, stocky Russian man with a cauliflower ear and a scar slashing across his left eyebrow—Dmitri Ivanov, sambo black belt, the same coach who'd helped Ji-Ho prepare for Tanaka, flown in from Busan for the next 4 full weeks of camp 🥋.
"Volkov's team is playing mind games," Coach Kim said, nodding at Dmitri. "They want you refreshing your phone instead of drilling takedown defense. They want you distracted. Don't give them the satisfaction. From now until Road FC sends us a written, signed cancellation? You train for Volkov. You eat for Volkov. You sleep for Volkov. If he drops out? We adjust. But not one second before. Understood?"
Ji-Ho stared at his phone one last time, then stuffed it in his gym bag so hard the zipper jammed 🤐. "Understood, Coach."
"Good. Because Dmitri is going to make you wish you were fighting a healthy Volkov by the end of the week."
Dmitri cracked his knuckles, a cruel grin spreading across his face 😈. "Today, we learn to stop the bear from taking you to the woods. You ready to get thrown on your head 100 times?"
🤼 SEP 15-18 – SAMBO HELL: FAILURE IS THE FIRST LESSON 🥴
The first 4 days with Dmitri were the most humiliating of Ji-Ho's entire fighting career. No exceptions.
Dmitri didn't teach counters first. He taught failure. He put on a 5kg weighted vest, mimicked Volkov's explosive double-leg entry perfectly, and took Ji-Ho down 27 times in the first 90-minute session 📉. Every time Ji-Ho tried to sprawl, Dmitri switched to a single leg. Every time he blocked the single, Dmitri lifted him with a body lock and slammed him into the mat. By the end of Day 1, Ji-Ho's back was covered in mat burn, his hips ached so bad he could barely climb the stairs to his apartment, and he'd landed zero effective counters 🩹.
That night, he sat on his couch, ice pack on his lower back, and rewatched Volkov's takedowns at 0.25x speed until his eyes burned 👀. He noticed what he'd missed: Volkov didn't just shoot for the legs—he feinted a right cross first, made his opponent lift their hands, then dropped level. The takedown starts with the punch, Ji-Ho wrote in his notebook, underlining it three times ✍️. I was watching his legs. I need to watch his right shoulder first.
Day 2 was better—but only barely. He stuffed 3 takedowns. Got taken down 22 more times 😮💨. Dmitri didn't let up. "Volkov will not feel bad for you!" he yelled, yanking Ji-Ho back to his feet after a hard slam. "He will smash your face into the mat while you are still dizzy! AGAIN!"
Day 3: 10 stuffed takedowns. 14 slams. Ji-Ho landed his first clean counter knee to the body on a shot entry, and Dmitri actually nodded once, the smallest sign of approval ✅.
Day 4: The turning point. Dmitri feinted the right cross, dropped for the double—Ji-Ho saw the shoulder twitch first, sprawled fast enough to get his hips back, hooked his left arm under Dmitri's chin, and drove a hard knee straight up into the Russian's ribs 🦵💥. Dmitri grunted, released the legs, and stumbled back a step. The gym went dead silent. Then Ji-Ho's training partners erupted in cheers 🎉.
"Finally," Dmitri huffed, rubbing his side, a tiny smirk on his face. "You stop watching legs. You start seeing the man. Good. Tomorrow, we do this 500 more times until you do it in your sleep."
By the end of the first week with Dmitri, Ji-Ho was stuffing 8 out of every 10 takedown entries, and every failed shot was followed by a sharp counter knee or elbow to the body. The bear couldn't drag him to the woods anymore—not without paying a price first 🛡️.
🧘 SEP 19-28 – CHEN LING ARRIVES: GUARDS, BRUISES, AND THE UP KICK THAT SHOCKED THE GYM 🦶
On September 19, the front door slammed open again, and Chen Ling walked in, rolling a giant duffel bag behind her, her hair in a tight braid, a grin on her face 🇨🇳🥋. She'd flown in from Shanghai for 10 full days of grappling camp, per Coach Kim's request, and she didn't waste a single second.
"Volkov's top game is overrated," she announced, dropping her bag and stepping onto the mat without warming up. "He's strong, but he's lazy on the ground. He holds position instead of advancing. If you keep your guard closed, control his posture, and make him work for every inch? He gasses twice as fast. Today, we do 6 hours of guard retention. No breaks. Let's go."
The next 10 days left Ji-Ho's entire upper body purple and blue 🤕. Chen Ling was relentless. She'd pass his guard, he'd recover, she'd pass again, he'd recover, over and over, until his abs burned so bad he could barely cough. She drilled guillotine escape after guillotine escape—tuck chin, hand inside, posture up, hip out—until he could do it blindfolded. She taught him to use his 6'0" length to his advantage from his back: long legs to frame, long arms to push at the biceps, never let Volkov get his chest heavy on top 📏.
On Day 7 of her visit, they drilled up kicks. The setup was simple: when Volkov postured up to throw ground-and-pound, Ji-Ho would plant both hands behind him, lift his hips, and snap his heel straight up into the Russian's chin 🦶⚡. For the first 3 hours, Ji-Ho missed every single time. Too slow. Too low. Off balance.
"Stop thinking about the kick!" Chen Ling snapped, slapping his shin lightly after another miss ✋. "Feel his weight shift. The second he leans back to throw a punch? Kick. Don't aim for the chin. Aim for the space his chin is about to be in. Now again!"
On the 147th attempt, Chen Ling postured up, faked a right hand—Ji-Ho didn't think. He lifted his hips, snapped his leg up like a mousetrap 🪤, and the heel of his foot smacked her square in the forehead, hard enough to make her stumble back and land flat on her ass on the mat 😵.
The entire gym froze. Ji-Ho's eyes went wide. "Oh my GOD—Chen Ling, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to—"
She sat up, rubbed her forehead, and burst out laughing so hard she snort-laughed 😂. She held up a hand, stopping him from helping her up. "Don't apologize. That was perfect. If you land that on Volkov? He goes to sleep. No questions asked. Do that 300 more times today. I want it automatic."
By the time Chen Ling flew back to Shanghai on Sep 28, Ji-Ho could hold guard for 10 straight minutes against a 90kg grappler without getting passed, escape 10/10 guillotine attempts, and land that up kick 9 times out of 10. His left rib was 95% healed, too—no more twinges when he twisted, no more sharp breaths when he bridged. The body was catching up to the mind ✅.
⚡ WEDNESDAY GAUNTLETS: 3 PARTNERS, 9 ROUNDS, NO MERCY 🥊🔥
Every Wednesday for 4 weeks straight, Coach Kim ran the Volkov Gauntlet: 3 different sparring partners, 3 rounds each, no breaks between partners, each one trained to mimic a different deadly part of the Russian's game. The progression was slow, painful, and undeniable:
🟢 WEEK 1 (SEP 21): GETTING KILLED
- Partner 1 (Power Striker): Mimicked Volkov's heavy hands and spinning back fist → Ji-Ho got dropped once, cut above the eyebrow, lost all 3 rounds 🩹
- Partner 2 (Sambo Grappler): Mimicked takedowns and top control → 7 clean takedowns landed, Ji-Ho barely survived → lost all 3 rounds
- Partner 3 (Unorthodox Styler): Mimicked spinning attacks and wild pressure → Ji-Ho was too tired to defend → lost all 3 rounds
- Final Score: 0 wins, 9 losses. Coach Kim wrote it on the whiteboard in big red marker: 0-9. VOLKOV WINS TODAY. Ji-Ho stared at it for 20 minutes after practice, then stayed late drilling low kicks until his shin was numb 🦶🔥.
🟡 WEEK 2 (SEP 28): STARTING TO ADAPT
- Striker: Slipped 8/10 spinning back fists, landed clean body hooks → won 2 rounds, lost 1 ✅
- Grappler: Stuffed 12/15 takedowns, landed 3 counter knees → split 1-1-1
- Unorthodox: Used distance and jabs to control pace → won 2 rounds, lost 1
- Final Score: 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw. The red marker was erased, replaced with black: 5-3-1. GETTING CLOSER. Ji-Ho slept like a rock that night 💤.
🔵 WEEK 3 (OCT 5): DOMINATION
- Striker: Slipped every spinning back fist, dropped him with a body hook in Round 2 → won all 3 rounds 🥊💥
- Grappler: Stuffed all 18 takedown attempts, took him down twice with a double leg of his own → won all 3 rounds 🤼
- Unorthodox: The moment he'll never forget. 1:17 left in Round 3. Partner pressed forward, left his lead leg slightly open. Ji-Ho feinted a jab, spun 360 degrees, and whipped his right leg into a perfect spinning roundhouse kick that slammed into the man's midsection so hard his mouthguard flew across the mat, skittering to a stop at Coach Kim's feet 🤯🦵💥. The partner collapsed to his knees, gasping for air, unable to move. The gym went completely silent for 3 full seconds. Then everyone screamed.
- Final Score: 9 wins, 0 losses. Coach Kim circled the number twice, then wrote below it in bold marker: THIS IS HOW YOU BEAT HIM. Ji-Ho stared at the spinning roundhouse kick he'd drilled 10,000 times over the past 4 weeks, and smiled. The weapon was ready ✅.
🚨 THE RUMORS ESCALATE + COACH KIM'S SECRET PLAN 🕵️
All through Weeks 3-6, the Volkov injury rumors got worse, not better—even as Ji-Ho tried to ignore them 📢:
- Sep 22: A Russian MMA journalist tweeted that Volkov had gotten an MRI and the results were "not good" → tweet deleted 12 minutes later
- Sep 27: Volkov's head coach posted a photo of an empty gym with the caption "Plans change. We adapt." → no further explanation
- Oct 2: A fan spotted Volkov at a Moscow airport in a wheelchair, left leg elevated → photo went viral before his team could take it down
- Oct 4: Road FC sent a short, vague email to all fighters: "We are monitoring the status of the Nov 13 main event. Updates will be shared as soon as confirmed."
Ji-Ho still refused to switch focus. He kept drilling Volkov's tells, kept practicing the takedown counters, kept perfecting the spinning kick. But late on the night of Oct 3, he walked back into the gym to grab his forgotten water bottle, and saw Coach Kim sitting alone in the dark office, laptop open to a loop of Kim Dong-Hyun's spinning elbow knockout 🖥️🦅. The whiteboard in the office had a tiny, hidden corner note written in pencil: BACKUP PLAN: DONG-HYUN #7 RANKED 🚨.
Coach Kim didn't even look up when Ji-Ho walked in. "I was going to tell you tomorrow," he said quietly, closing the laptop. "Road FC called me privately this afternoon. If Volkov is out? They want Dong-Hyun. Short notice, same main event slot, same purse, win = #3 ranked + title eliminator next. I've been watching his tapes on the side for 2 weeks. Just in case. I didn't want to distract you."
Ji-Ho leaned against the doorframe, not angry—just calm, focused. The old Ji-Ho would have panicked. The new Ji-Ho just nodded 🧘. "Good. If Volkov can't fight? I fight Dong-Hyun. I beat Volkov, I beat Dong-Hyun next anyway. Either way, I fight. Either way, I win. Just make sure we have the Dong-Hyun tapes ready if we need them."
Coach Kim looked up at him, and for the first time all camp, he smiled—proud, not just demanding 😊. "You've grown up, kid. Good. That's the mindset of a champion."
🏔️ OCT 3-6 – PEAK CAMP: 5 ROUNDS, NO STOPPING, NO WEAKNESSES ⛰️
The final 4 days of the 6-week block were all about peak performance. No new techniques. No new drills. Just polishing what was already sharp, testing it in the most realistic simulation possible.
On Oct 5, Coach Kim ran a full 5-round, 5-minute-per-round simulated fight against Park Sung-Min, who'd spent 6 weeks studying every single move Volkov had ever thrown in the cage. The rules: no stopping for blood, no water between rounds (only a sip and a spit), judges scoring from cageside, everything exactly like fight night 🥊🎯.
The fight was a masterclass in everything Ji-Ho had trained for:
- R1: Volkov (Sung-Min) pressed hard, landed 2 clean hooks, shot 4 takedowns → all stuffed. Ji-Ho chipped his lead leg with 9 low kicks, won the round on all 3 cards ✅
- R2: Spinning back fist attempt → slipped perfectly, counter body hook folded Sung-Min forward. 12 more low kicks. Sung-Min was already limping slightly. Ji-Ho won R2 ✅
- R3: Sung-Min gassed exactly like the scouting said he would—hands dropped, feet slow, takedown entries lazy. Ji-Ho upped the pace, landed 17 clean strikes, stuffed all 6 takedowns. Won R3 ✅
- R4: Sung-Min tried a desperate takedown → Ji-Ho sprawled, locked in a front headlock, landed 4 hard knees to the body. Almost got the finish. Won R4 ✅
- R5: Sung-Min came out swinging for the fences, wild, desperate. Ji-Ho stayed calm, circled, picked his shots, and with 12 seconds left, feinted the jab, spun, and landed that same perfect spinning roundhouse kick to the body—not full power, just enough to make a point. Sung-Min stumbled back, and the bell rang ✅
Final judges' scorecards: 50-44, 50-45, 49-45 → Unanimous Decision for Ji-Ho. He wasn't even breathing that hard when it was over 💨. His left rib? 100% fine. No soreness. No twinges. Fully healed 🩹✅.
Coach Kim walked into the cage, clapped him on the shoulder, and yelled over the team's cheers: "THAT'S HOW YOU WIN A WORLD TITLE ONE DAY! NOT WITH LUCK. WITH WORK! WITH PREPARATION! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S VOLKOV, DONG-HYUN, OR THE BOGEYMAN—YOU ARE READY!"
📞 OCT 6, 9:07 PM – THE CALL THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING ☎️💥
Ji-Ho was sitting on the gym mat, wrapping his hands for light evening drilling, when Coach Kim's phone rang loud enough for the whole room to hear. The caller ID blared in white letters: ROAD FC MATCHMAKING – EMERGENCY LINE 🚨.
The gym went dead silent. No one moved. No one breathed.
Coach Kim stared at the phone for 2 full seconds, then hit answer and put it on speaker so everyone could hear.
"Coach Kim speaking. Yes. Yes, we're all here. Ji-Ho is right here. Go ahead."
The matchmaker's voice was tight, formal, no room for confusion:
"Gentlemen. We just got off a 2-hour call with Alexei Volkov's doctors and management team. I have the official, final update on the November 13 main event. Are you ready?"
Ji-Ho's heart hammered against his ribs—right where the old soreness used to be, now strong as stone 💓. He looked at the whiteboard across the gym. On the left, in big black letters: ALEXEI VOLKOV – GAME PLAN. On the right, in that tiny hidden pencil scrawl: BACKUP: KIM DONG-HYUN #7.
He'd trained 6 weeks for the bear. He'd secretly prepared 2 weeks for the gatekeeper. He was ready for either.
He nodded at Coach Kim. "Tell him. We're ready."
The matchmaker took a deep breath, and spoke the words that would rewrite the next 4 months of Ji-Ho's life:
⏭️ NEXT CHAPTER TEASER 📖
CHAPTER 28 – 💔 THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Volkov's official diagnosis is confirmed: full ACL tear + meniscus damage, emergency surgery scheduled, out 6-8 months minimum, rematch delayed indefinitely. Road FC offers Ji-Ho 3 replacement opponent options, and he makes the boldest choice of his career—turning down two easy, safe wins to chase the ranked veteran gatekeeper who can punch his ticket to the title eliminator. The Dong-Hyun era begins now, and the stakes have never been higher.
[TO BE CONTINUED…]