Seo Hee Ham
Seo Hee Ham or Seohee Ham ( "ham seo-hi" ; born , written Ham Seo-Hee in Korean order) is a female South Korean mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently signed to ONE Championship. She is nicknamed Hamderlei Silva because of the similarities between her fighting style and Wanderlei Silva's style. In Japan, she is also occasionally nicknamed Arale-chan, in reference to her similar looks outside of the ring to the character Arale Norimaki from the manga series "Dr. Slump". Ham has participated in MMA promotions Deep, Smackgirl, ROAD FC and Jewels. On , she became the second  Jewels featherweight queen champion. She is currently ranked #2 in the ONE Championship Women's Atomweight rankings. Early life and education. Ham was born on in South Korea. She started training in kickboxing in 2004. With few female fighters to train with in South Korea, Ham regularly trains with male fighters, such as fellow gym member Dong Hyun Kim. Mixed martial arts career. Japan. Ham debuted against Japanese MMA veteran Hisae Watanabe on at "Deep 28 Impact", upsetting the favorite Watanabe by winning via unanimous decision. Ham was defeated by Miku Matsumoto via triangle choke submission on at "clubDeep Toyama : Barbarian Festival 6". Ham rebounded back from her first loss with a unanimous decision victory over Ayumi Saito on at "Smackgirl 2007: Queens' Hottest Summer". On at "Smackgirl 7th anniversary: Starting Over", Ham challenged Smackgirl Lightweight Champion Yuka Tsuji for her title, losing by unanimous decision in a match that Tsuji completely dominated.<ref name="SMACK GIRL - 12/26/2007: 'Yuka Tsuji Is No Longer Interested In Megumi Fujii?'"></ref> On , Ham participated in the "Smackgirl World ReMix Tournament 2008 Opening Round", where she defeated Saori Ishioka by unanimous decision.<ref name="2/14 SmackGirl - RESULTS"></ref> In the tournament semi-finals on , Abe Ani Combat Club  star Megumi Fujii handed Ham her third professional defeat by submitting her with an armbar in the "Smackgirl World ReMix Tournament 2008 Second Round". After a year without fights in MMA, Ham made her debut with MMA promotion Jewels and earned another victory on by defeating Misaki Takimoto by unanimous decision at "Jewels 5th Ring". Ham next participated at "Jewels 9th Ring" in the first round of the inaugural Jewels Lightweight Queen Tournament, held to crown the first Jewels Lightweight Champion,<ref name="JEWELS 9 - 07/31/2010: Lightweight Tourney to Decide the Champion Begins!"></ref> where she defeated Mai Ichii by unanimous decision  on . Ham was slated to compete at "Jewels 10th Ring", but since she decided to participate in two kickboxing matches with conflicting dates, Jewels released her. Jewels later announced that she would still participate in the semi-finals of the Lightweight Queen Tournament at "Jewels 11th Ring". Ham faced Mika Nagano in the semi-finals and defeated Nagano by split decision. In the tournament final later that night, Ham was defeated by Ayaka Hamasaki via unanimous decision. Ham had a rematch against Saori Ishioka on at DEEP: 52 Impact in Tokyo, Japan. She once again defeated Ishioka by unanimous decision . On , Ham faced Anna Saito in a mixed martial arts rules match at "Gladiator 15: GI 2". Ham defeated Saito by unanimous decision. Ham faced Mei Yamaguchi in a "Jewels vs. Valkyrie" match at "Jewels 15th Ring" on . She defeated Yamaguchi by unanimous decision. Ham challenged Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki in a rematch at "Jewels 17th Ring" on . She was defeated by TKO (corner stoppage) after the first round when she could not continue due to injury. On , Ham faced pro wrestler Ryo Mizunami at "Gladiator: Dream, Power and Hope". She defeated Mizunami by submission due to an armbar early  in the first round. Ham dropped down in weight to challenge Naho Sugiyama for the Jewels Atomweight queen title at "Jewels 24th Ring" on . She defeated Sugiyama by unanimous decision to become the new Jewels Atomweight queen champion. Following Jewels' closure, Ham's title was renamed the Deep Jewels Atomweight championship. She defended the title against Sadae Numata at "Deep Jewels 2" on . Ham won the fight by unanimous decision. Ultimate Fighting Championship. In early November 2014 Seo Hee Ham signed a four-fight contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship to join UFC's Strawweight division. She made her debut against  Joanne Calderwood at on December 12, 2014. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Ham was expected to face Bec Rawlings on May 10, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. However, Ham pulled out of the bout on April 10 and was replaced by Lisa Ellis. After nearly a year away from the company, Ham returned to face Cortney Casey on November 28, 2015 at . She won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned Ham her first "Fight of the Night" bonus award. She lost to Danielle Taylor at UFC Fight Night 101 on Nov. 26, 2016 via  split decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Road FC. After briefly considering retirement, Ham signed with Road FC where she became the atomweight champion with a victory over Mina Kurobe. On December 23, 2017, she successfully defended her atomweight championship with a first round stoppage over Jinh Yu Frey. Rizin. On June 21, 2019, it was announced Ham would face former DEEP Champion Tomo Maesawa at Rizin 17 on July 28, 2019. She won the fight by TKO in the first round. Next, Ham faced Miyuu Yamamoto at Rizin 19 on October 12, 2019. She won the fight  via technical knockout in the second round. With two consecutive victories in Rizin, Ham earned a title shot against Ayaka Hamasaki at Rizin 20 on December 31, 2019. She won the trilogy fight via split decision, becoming the second Rizin Women's Super Atomweight Champion. Ham vacated her Rizin Atomweight title in October 2020, as she couldn't come to an agreement with Rizin for her next fight. ONE Championship. After vacating her Rizin Atomweight title, Ham signed with ONE Championship, where she will compete in the atomweight division. She was scheduled to take part in the ONE Atomweight Grand  Prix. It was reported that Ham will face Denice Zamboanga in the quarter-final of the ONE Women's Atomweight Grand Prix at on May 28, 2021. The event was later postponed due to COVID-19 precautions. The event was rescheduled for September 3, 2021. She won the close bout via split decision. Due to the controversy the decision stirred, the bout was placed under review but the ONE Championship committee left the result standing. Ham was scheduled to face Stamp Fairtex in the semi-final bout of ONE Women's Atomweight Grand Prix at on October 29, 2021. Ham had  to pull out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by alternate bout winner Julie Mezabarba. Ham was scheduled to rematch Denice Zamboanga at on December 5, 2021. Their rematch was later postponed for on March 6, 2022. Ham failed the hydration test the day before the fight, and was given until midnight to pass. Ham was able to pass the test in the mandated time and won the fight by unanimous decision. Kickboxing career. Ham had her first professional kickboxing match at "CMA Festival 2: Ikuhisa Minowa Debut 10 Anniversary Tournament" on , where she defeated former Smackgirl  Open Weight Champion Megumi Yabushita by unanimous decision. On , Ham defeated Ayano Oishi in a K-1 rules match by unanimous decision at "Japan-South Korea friendship international martial arts tournament Gladiator Okayama tournament". At "Jewels 7th Ring" on , Ham had an exhibition match against Shoot boxing rising star Rena Kubota. Ham earned another unanimous decision victory over Japanese fighter Miyu Matsui on at "Gladiator 6", winning the CMA KPW Lightweight Championship. On , Ham faced Megumi Yabushita for a second time at "Gladiator 14: KOK Samurai Series". Ham won the fight by TKO in the second round. On , Ham entered the  2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup tournament. She defeated Emi Fujino and Mina in the opening rounds, but lost to Erika Kamimura via unanimous decision in the tournament final. Ham faced Erika Kamimura in a rematch at "Rise 88" on . She was defeated by unanimous decision. Ham entered the "2012 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup" on . She defeated Lisa Ellis to advance to the semi-final round, but lost to Rena Kubota via unanimous decision. Other activities. Ham defeated pro-wrestler Stalker Ichikawa by left high kick KO at "Gladiator 10" on . She defeated pro-wrestler Antonio Koinoki by KO  at "Gladiator 11" on . Kickboxing record. Legend: