Dong Hyun Kim

Kim and Hasegawa later fought to a controversial draw in a title fight at DEEP 32nd Impact, leaving defending champion Hasegawa with the title.

Kim departed from DEEP to sign a contract with PRIDE Fighting Championships, but the UFC purchased and dismantled PRIDE before Kim could fight in the organization.

Kim's performances attracted the attention of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) talent scouts, who offered him a contract.

However, because the WEC is not televised in Korea, Kim's management pushed for and received a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which airs on Korean cable television.

Kim's original nickname is "Stun Gun", then a lot of Korean fans started calling him "Maemi", which means Cicada in Korean.

The nickname was given to Kim from his fighting style where he likes to take his opponents to the ground, grapple with them and never let them escape like a Cicada on a tree.

Kim made his UFC debut at UFC 84 against Jason Tan, methodically breaking down his opponent and ultimately winning by technical knockout in the third round.

With his performance, Kim became the first Korean to win in the octagon.

Kim's appearance drew considerable attention in Korea.

One week before the event, a prime time, hour-long special about Kim was aired on Korean television.

Though Kim's bout did not air on the UFC pay-per-view, it aired live on Korean television, and was then replayed twice more before the regular event coverage resumed.

Kim Dong-hyun (김동현; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a retired South Korean mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division.

He was signed by the UFC after fighting in the Japanese promotion DEEP and in the South Korean promotion Spirit MC.

Kim is also prominent as a regular cast member in variety shows Master in the House, DoReMi Market, The Return of Superman, and Strong Heart.

Kim was born in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

He is of the Gimhae Kim clan.

He moved to Daejeon when he was a primary school student, where he was an inline speed skater.

He began training in Judo when he was 14 years old, and trained in Taekwondo and Hapkido together in his late teens for his interest in martial arts.

And later Kim began to practice Judo professionally at Yong-In University, which led him to reignite his MMA career.

Kim began training at Wajyutsu Keisyukai, a renowned Japanese gym frequented by a number of top Japanese fighters.

As one of the largest members of the gym, Kim became a regular sparring partner of middleweight Yushin Okami.

At this time he competed in Sambo.

He served in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in 2001 for his mandatory service.

Later he became a fighter for Spirit MC, but declared his retirement in 2004 due to economic reasons.

He mentioned during Law of the Jungle that before spending four months in Auckland, New Zealand working in 3 concurrent part-time roles (kitchenhand and sashimi chef/poissonnier, bricklayer and construction labourer).

His job situation never improved upon returning to Korea, until his parents finally allowed him to train again.

He trains with Busan Team MAD since 2007.

He teaches self defence classes.

One of his students include Hani of Korean girl group EXID.

He is also a regular guest in Korean variety shows and talk shows.

Kim gained recognition after signing with the Japanese DEEP organization, earning a succession of wins before knocking out DEEP welterweight champion Hidehiko Hasegawa in a non-title bout in 2007.

He has attended more than seventy TV shows since 2010.

On June 16, 2013, he featured as the 'Hulk' on Running Man episode 150 (SBS Sunday night show).

On this episode he led the character that transformed to Hulk mode in Running Man Avengers.

On March 22, 2015, Kim reappeared on Running Man in episode 239 as a guest.

Kim was also featured along with fellow UFC fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama in the Korean boy band MYNAME's drama music video for their single "Baby I'm Sorry".

On June 26, 2016, Kim returned as a guest on Running Man in episode 305.

Kim is regular cast member of Great Escape Season 1 of 2018 and Season 2 of 2019.

In 2019, he guest-starred on Not the Person You Used To Know, where he appeared as one of the friends of Hani of EXID.

In September, 2018, he announced his marriage to Song Ha-ryul in various variety shows, then revealed her pregnancy on the February 14, 2019, episode of Amazing Saturday.