Chu Sung-hoon to face Liven in retirement bout, 16 years after last-second loss

Chu Sung-hoon (51), the judo-turned-MMA fighter who has become a household name through his television appearances, has chosen Chris Liven (46, United States) — the man who handed him a painful defeat 16 years ago — as his final MMA opponent.

Chu will face Liven in his retirement bout at Black Combat 17, set for Nov. 21 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Black Combat officially announced the matchup Thursday. Chu carries a professional MMA record of 16 wins, 7 losses and 2 no-contests; Liven stands at 20 wins and 12 losses.

The two fighters' history dates back to UFC 116 in July 2010. Chu's originally scheduled opponent for that card was Wanderlei Silva of Brazil — a matchup Chu had actively sought. Silva withdrew after breaking a rib in training, and Liven stepped in as a replacement just two weeks after stopping Aaron Simpson by TKO.

It was Liven who had the last laugh. Chu held a narrow edge through most of the fight before being caught in a triangle choke late in the third round, forcing him to tap. The official stoppage came at 4 minutes 40 seconds of round three — exactly 20 seconds before the final bell.

Reflecting on the moment in a recent interview on Black Combat's YouTube channel, Chu said he had let his guard down. "With about 20 seconds left, I thought, 'It's fine now,'" he said. "I got complacent."

It was Chu's first loss since entering the UFC. He had made a winning debut at UFC 100 in 2009, defeating Alan Belcher by decision. Despite the outcome, the back-and-forth battle with Liven earned both fighters a Fight of the Night bonus.

Sixteen years later, as Chu prepared for his retirement fight, Silva's name came up again. Chu had initially wanted Silva as his final opponent. According to Black Combat, the two sides held negotiations to make that bout happen but could not reach an agreement due to a disagreement over the fight purse.

Black Combat then settled on "revenge" as the theme for the retirement bout and widened its search to fighters who had previously beaten Chu. The promotion said it considered Jerome Le Banner, Misaki Kazuo, Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping as candidates. Misaki had defeated Chu in 2007, but that result was later overturned to a no-contest after an illegal grounded knee strike came to light.

Liven ultimately got the nod — and Chu welcomed the choice. He said he had wanted both to face a tough opponent and to get another shot at someone who had beaten him.

"My first priority was to fight someone strong, but I also wanted to fight someone who had beaten me once," Chu said. "Getting to fight again after a loss — that's the biggest challenge I can think of for myself."

Liven is also returning to MMA after a long absence. His last MMA bout was against Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in December 2013. He has since competed in bare-knuckle boxing but has not fought in MMA for roughly 13 years.

Chu himself has been away from MMA competition for more than four years. His last fight was a second-round TKO win over Aoki Shinya of Japan at One Championship in March 2022.

Both the age gap and the ring rust weigh on him, but Chu has embraced them as part of the final challenge. When told that the younger Liven had competed in bare-knuckle bouts until relatively recently, Chu was unfazed. "Isn't that what makes it interesting?" he said. "That's the challenge. I'll just have to work hard."

With 20 seconds left on the clock 16 years ago, a win slipped through his fingers. Now Chu Sung-hoon will close out a career spanning more than two decades by settling the score with the man who handed him his first UFC defeat.

Chu, a Korean-Japanese fighter, built his foundation in elite judo. He won a gold medal representing South Korea at the 2001 Asian Championships, then acquired Japanese citizenship and claimed the men's 81-kilogram title representing Japan at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.

He transitioned to MMA in 2004, making his debut that December with a first-round armbar submission of former world heavyweight boxing champion Francois Botha. He went on to win the K-1 Heroes light heavyweight Grand Prix in 2006 before joining the UFC in 2009.