UFC fighter Bae Myung-ho pushes back again on ex-wife's child support claims

UFC fighter Bae Myung-ho has again rebuffed his ex-wife's claims that he failed to pay child support.

Bae posted on his social media Monday, saying he wanted to set the record straight after his ex-wife's "one-sided statements" had made him look like someone who abandoned his child by not paying support, and had led to false claims being treated as fact.

"Under the court ruling, child support was set at 3 million won ($2,170) per month through the end of 2025, and 1.5 million won per month from 2026 onward," he wrote. "Separately, at my former spouse's request, I also covered additional costs including the remaining monthly rent, car installment payments and insurance premiums." He said the total he paid each month, including child support, came to about 5.5 million won.

Bae said his monthly income was irregular given the nature of his profession, averaging around 5 million won, but added that regardless of the amount, he had tried to fulfill his responsibilities so his child would not go without what was needed.

He said his ex-wife had treated the payments as something owed to her as a matter of course while aggressively demanding them and pursuing multiple legal actions, including asset seizures, provisional attachments and a claim for consolation damages. "In response, I was also preparing legal action I had not wanted to take, and it was during that process that a post making one-sided claims — not based on the facts — was made public," he said.

Bae said that to people unfamiliar with the situation, he had come across as a father who neglected his family, ignored his child and refused to pay support. He added that unverified claims had led to accusations that he had divorced over an affair and "ran away abandoning his child."

"One thing I can say clearly is that I did not divorce because of an affair during the marriage," he said.

He said the details of what happened during the marriage and why it ended were "an entirely private matter that only the parties involved know accurately." He added that he too had gone through a difficult time that led him to conclude he could no longer continue the marriage, and that the decision came after long deliberation.

Bae asked for understanding that he would have no choice but to pursue legal action against "baseless attacks on my reputation or extreme expressions that damage my honor," and asked the public to wait for the court's judgment on the dispute with his ex-wife.

Earlier, Bae's ex-wife wrote on her Instagram that in June 2024, when their child — then 17 months old — was repeatedly hospitalized with pneumonia, Bae suddenly left the family at the hardest time, and that she did not even know why.

She said that from immediately after leaving the home, he continued to travel abroad, attend parties and go on vacations, posting those activities publicly on social media.

She also said that even after the divorce, he had delayed payments while posting overseas trips on social media, and that he had continued to avoid contact, child support payments and fulfilling agreed-upon obligations.

Bae, known by the nickname "Wolverine," is a UFC fighter who has competed primarily in the welterweight division. He gained wider public recognition in 2018 when he appeared as actor Yoon Si-yoon's partner in a special episode of the KBS2 variety program "Happy Sunday — 2 Days & 1 Night Season 3" filmed at Silmido. He married a non-celebrity in 2019.