Lee Tae-Hyun is a South Korean

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 ssireum

Ssireum

Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....

 wrestler and later mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. His ssireum

Ssireum

Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....

 record included 472 wins, the best overall winning record in Korean ssireum competition.

Ssireum

Lee made his professional ssireum

Ssireum

Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....

 debut in August, 1993 joining Chunggu pro-ssireum club. From participating in Chunggu ssireum club to declaring his retirement from ssireum, he recorded 472 wins (the most winning record in Korean pro-ssireum history) and 158 losses, and won the Cheonhajangsa Ssireum Championship three times.

After his retirement from Ssrieum, Lee completed his thesis and earned a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

.

Mixed martial arts

After his retirement from ssireum, Lee announced his debut in MMA and signed a contract with PRIDE. He made his MMA debut on September 10, 2006, at PRIDE Openweight GP 2006, with a loss against Ricardo Morais

Ricardo Morais

Ricardo "The Mutant" Morais is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist, who competed in Pride Fighting Championships, Jungle Fight, and Rings - MMA...

, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 fighter.

After the loss, Lee trained in Russia for several months with the Red Devil Sport Club

Red Devil Sport Club

The Red Devil Sport Club is a mixed martial arts academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Vadim Finkelstein.The team’s main fighter base is made up of Russian and Armenian Sambo fighters who have adapted their style to mixed martial arts, and they regularly compete in full contact combat sambo...

, and later with Akira Shoji and Hidehiko Yoshida

Hidehiko Yoshida

is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, competing in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, also managing to fight in the semi-finals in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix...

's Yoshida Dojo

Yoshida Dojo

The Yoshida Dojo is a mixed martial arts academy based out of Chiba, Japan. Yoshida Dojo has produced some of the top fighters in Japan and primarily focuses on Judo. Many members, including founder Hidehiko Yoshida, have participated in both Judo and mixed martial arts...

His second fight was for K-1 Hero's where he defeated Yoshihisa Yamamoto by TKO.

His third, and last, professional fight was against Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem

Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...

. He was quickly knocked out and soon retired from MMA.

MMA record

|-
|Loss
|1-2
|   Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem

Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...

| KO (Punches)
| DREAM.4

DREAM.4

DREAM.4 Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 2nd Round was a mixed martial arts event held by FEG's mixed martial arts promotion DREAM. The event took place on June 15, 2008 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, featuring the second round of the promotion's Middleweight tournament, with winners advancing...

| 6/15/2008
| 1
| 0:36
|
|
|-
|Win
|1-1
|  Yoshihisa Yamamoto
|TKO (Punches)
|Hero's 2007 in Korea
|10/28/2007
| 1
|1:03
|
|
|-
|Loss
|0-1
|  Ricardo Morais

Ricardo Morais

Ricardo "The Mutant" Morais is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist, who competed in Pride Fighting Championships, Jungle Fight, and Rings - MMA...

|TKO (Corner Stoppage)
|PRIDE Openweight GP Final

PRIDE

Pride Fighting Championships was the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride has held more than sixty mixed martial arts events...

|09/10/2006
| 1
|8:08
|
|