On The Spot ~ Denis Kang

posted by J. Andrew Yount

Denis Kang was born in 1977, on the French island of St Pierre of Miquleon to a Korean father and French mother. The Kangs immigrated to Canada in 1988 and settled in Vancouver. That is when Denis started training in wrestling, while going to Balmoral Junior Secondary School.

Denis also trained in hapkido with the Wolfe brothers, but it wasn't until 1997 when his future coach and mentor, Marcus Soares, arrived to Vancouver to open his Brazilian jiu-jitsu school. Denis is one of Marcus's original students and remains under Marcus's tutelage.

Under the guidance of professor Soares, Denis learned the intricacies of grappling. Naturally gifted, he progressed very quickly, earning his brown belt, racking an impressive number of wins in jiu-jitsu and no-gi competitions. While learning jiu-jitsu, Denis began showing more interest in mixed martial arts competition. Again, under Soares' supervision, he started training for no-holds-barred style matches. His debut fight was at an underground event, held in in Richmond B.C., inside an industrial warehouse. Seventeen seconds was all it took for Denis to submit his American opponent. Since then, Kang has traveled the globe competing events such as Pancrase, Extreme Challenge, IFC, and M-1. In 2004, Denis was awarded a black belt from professor Marcus Soares. On April 4, 2005, Denis fought his first match in Pride Fighting Championship and won.

When not training, Denis enjoys going out with his friends, watching MMA videos and relaxing at home.

Denis fights out of American Top Team, located in Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. He is also under mentoring of Marcus Soares of Soares Jiu-Jitsu in Vancouver.

(courtesy of Denis Kang’s Website)

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Spot:  First off. Congratulations on your win recently. Have you heard anything about your next opponent, when and who it might be?
Kang:  Nothing yet, I'm taking the summer off to recharge and I'll be ready to fight as early as September.  

Spot:  If you could fight anyone in your next fight, who would it be?
Kang:  Anyone who will challenge me, I want to climb the ladder to the top. 

Spot:  What have you been focusing on (strategy) since coming to the UFC?
Kang:  How to use elbows more effectively and utilizing the cage to my advantage.

Spot:  You've only fought a handful of times in the USA, and still haven't since signing with UFC, are you looking forward to finally getting a chance to fight in front of an American crowd?
Kang:  Of course. It would be a dream for me to fight in Vegas.

Spot:  The sport, and yourself in general, are very popular in Korea. Do you miss performing in front of those crowds?
Kang:  I really miss fighting in Korea, and in Japan. The fans over there are very passionate. You will never get booed when you are working hard to win.

Spot:  What are the biggest differences for you fighting in the UFC/U.S. as opposed to PRIDE/SpiritMC?
Kang:  Well in Japan the events are run a little differently. The card is not announced until about a month before the date of the event, and it's also the fighters themselves who do not know who they are fighting. In UFC you can know up to six months in advance.

Spot:  As a veteran fighter who has been around the world, how has each market (U.S./Asia) changed over the years?
Kang:  Before, the sport was not very well known or accepted. People still saw us as “fringe” athletes or just wannabe boxers/street fighters. Now that the sport is mainstream, we are recognized as real athletes. It’s great to finally be respected, and for people to understand the discipline that goes into the training. 

Spot: What do you enjoy most about fighting for a living?
Kang:  That I do what I love, and can be proud of it.

Spot:  What discipline do you consider your biggest strength?
Kang:  Brazilian jiu-jitsu is my main art, and I have a black belt under Marcus Soares of the Carlson Gracie Team.

Spot:  Who would you credit for making you into the fighter you are?
Kang:  Marcus Soares is my mentor in the sport, but I also count Ricardo Liborio, Mohammad Ouali and Firas Zahabi as some of my coaches.

Spot:  Do you still split time training between Florida and Vancouver?
Kang:  At the moment I am only in Montreal and Vancouver. Florida will be soon.

Spot:  Who would you consider the best fighters you have faced? Worked out with?
Kang:  The hardest guy that I’ve fought was [Kazuo] Misaki or Andrei Semenov. That I've trained with would be Wilson Gouveia or GSP. 

Spot:  Do you have to cut much weight to fight at 185 (middleweight)? Has there ever been a time that you considered 170 lbs (welterweight)?
Kang:  When I’m training for a fight I walk around at 200-205, so I don’t consider that a hard cut because I start about 10 days out. I once considered fighting at 170 but realized I would have to be "meth-head" skinny to make it.

Spot:  Do you have any memorable moments from your international fighting career?
Kang:  My first fight….it was an underground event and the police kept trying to shut it down as the fights were happening. I remember being so nervous that I was really hoping that the event would be canceled before my bout and I wouldn’t have to fight. I ended up fighting and won in 15 seconds.

Spot:  What do you feel was the most disappointing loss to date?
Kang:  Probably my fight versus Misaki in the Pride Bushido GP finals. I had worked so hard throughout the year to get there and to be so close yet so far was heartbreaking.

Spot:  What do you feel was you most significant victory to date?
Kang:  I always think that my latest fight, win or lose is my most important. Because it’s the most accurate gauge of where I am in my training.

Spot:  Who are your biggest influences, past/present?
Kang:  My mother, Marcus Soares, J.Z. Cavalcante, Georges St. Pierre, Minotauro Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko. 

Spot:  How big of an influence is your family?
Kang:  Huge, my mother taught me to always persevere no matter the circumstances.

Spot:  Many fighters get into the spiritual aspects of martial arts, do you?
Kang:  Yes, I think that in one way or another everyone who competes must be in touch with their spiritual side. Whether it be simply concentration or just having a thorough ritual, to succeed you must have control over your mind.

Spot:  Do you have any hobbies or things you like to do when you are away from the sport?
Kang:  Read comics, hang out with friends, internet, movies. Really crazy stuff.

Spot:  Are you looking forward to attending the Olympic Games?
Kang:  The city will be too crazy with tourists and bad traffic. I don’t think I'll be there too much.

Spot:  Do you have any sponsors you'd like to thank, or messages for your fans?
Kang:  Check out my website at www.deniskang.com

Posted at 07-10-2009