Jan-9-2009
The Evolution of Denis Kang
By Mike Russell
To say UFC newcomer Denis Kang is “well-traveled” would be a major understatement. By the age of 11, Kang had lived in three countries in two continents and spoke four different languages. The term “overachiever” might be a more
fitting label for the successful 31-year-old middleweight veteran as he has continued to evolve as a fighter, winning him the respect of MMA fans and pundits alike who have sung his praises for the majority of his mixed martial arts career.
Not bad for a guy who admits that at one time he had reservations about becoming a professional fighter.
“I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do as far as my career was concerned. I figured I would do something that utilized my linguistic skills, like a translator or something. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a professional fighter because I was intimidated,” recalls Kang. “If you look at the guys who were fighting in the UFC tournaments back then, they were all older and they were like martial arts grand masters or Olympic wrestlers. The only young guys like me that I could relate to were guys like Jerry Bohlander and Vitor Belfort.”
The eldest of two brothers, Kang was born 16 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada on the French colonized archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon where he spent the first decade of his life in an idyllic Hemingwayesque village. Although there is nothing particularly remarkable about the island or its locale, the improbable story of how his parents, who were from opposite ends of the world, met, fell in love and started a family has all the makings of a Hollywood movie. It’s because of his parents' influence, Kang says, that he’s always been eager to openly accept all odds stacked against him.
“My parents really met by accident. My dad was a merchant marine from Korea and was on a port of call on Saint Pierre when he got sick with appendicitis. My mother was a nurse at the hospital there and she took care of him after his operation,” explains Kang. “He never returned to his ship. Instead he stayed to be with my mom. They got married and had me and my brother and the rest is history. It’s a pretty amazing story that makes you think anything is possible.”
Following a brief stay in the Canary Islands, when Denis was 11 the Kangs packed up and journeyed back across the Atlantic in search of a better life in Vancouver, British Columbia. A thriving metropolis of nearly a half million people in 1988, Vancouver was far removed from the other islands they had lived on, especially Saint Pierre and Miquelon whose population was less than 6,000.
(cont. at http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=16990 )
Cindy