Korean Superboy Choi Doo-ho Achieves Stunning TKO Victory Over Santos: What’s Next for the UFC Star?

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Korean Superboy Choi Doo-ho Scores Comeback TKO Over Santos

Choi Doo-ho (35), a UFC Hall of Famer, put together his first three-fight win streak in the promotion in a decade. On May 17 (Korean time) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he stopped Daniel Santos (31, Brazil) via TKO from a left-hand body shot at 4:29 of the second round in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa.

Santos controlled the early pace, setting the tone with heavy body kicks and slipping inside Choi’s range to land hooks and uppercuts. Choi kept his guard up, but multiple punches got through, leaving his face red from the onslaught. Every time Choi tried to counter, Santos even threatened takedowns, giving him little time to breathe.

The fight flipped in round two. Choi used his jab and a right-hand counter to disrupt Santos’ timing. Having spent a ton of energy in the first round, Santos visibly slowed and, in frustration, kept shooting for takedowns that Choi easily stuffed, further sapping his gas tank. At the decisive moment, Choi trapped Santos against the cage with a right-hand body shot, followed a jab and an uppercut, and then landed a left-hand body punch that ended the fight. Afterward Choi said simply, “I just trusted my training.”

A Word from Coach Jung Chan-sung That Changed the Fight

A key figure in the turnaround was coach Jung Chan-sung, the “Korean Zombie,” who served as Choi’s second. Jung reportedly predicted Santos’ game plan and the fight’s flow with uncanny accuracy. Fans praised his breakdown on Choi’s YouTube channel as nearly prophetic.

After round one, Jung got Choi’s focus, saying from the corner, “Listen to me. You hear me?” Then he offered a critical adjustment: Santos is just blocking with his guard on combinations—stop letting that happen. “I want to see no more than three punches at a time.” In short: don’t stand there and take it—move and counter.

Choi applied that instruction perfectly. In round two, instead of merely defending Santos’ flurries, he started slipping attacks and landing counters between strikes. That tactical shift was the turning point and underscored Jung’s elite fight IQ.

Proof of the ‘Korean Superboy’

Choi’s record now stands at 17–1–4 overall and 6–1–3 in the UFC. Notably, all six of his UFC wins have come by (T)KO. The bout earned Fight of the Night honors and a 150,000,000 KRW bonus (approximately 112,500 USD), the sixth career bonus for Choi—further proof that a Choi Doo-ho fight is always must-see.

Santos had been trying to cement a reputation as a “Korean Killer” after back-to-back wins over Yoo Ju-sang and Lee Jeong-young. At the post-fight press conference, Choi said he was happy to erase that nickname: “As the elder brother, I’m glad I wiped out that ‘Korean Killer’ tag.” On the finish, he explained, “I felt Santos wanted the clinch, so I decided to test who was stronger up close. After I let him eat a lot of jabs, his guard rose and his midsection opened—so I hit the body shot.”

Who’s Next for Choi?

Choi has pointed to No. 15 featherweight Patrício “Pitbull” Freire (38, Brazil) as his next target. Pitbull, a longtime Bellator star, once held both the featherweight and lightweight titles there. Of his 36 career wins, 24 came by stoppage, highlighting his finishing power. At about 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), Pitbull pressures opponents with heavy conditioning and quickness. A win over Pitbull would open a clear path toward ranked contention for Choi.