Gallery Kyung Ho Kang def. Teruto Ishihara at UFC 234: Best photos view 14 images

MELBOURNE, Australia – Kyung Ho Kang believes he’s put himself in line for a fight of significance in the UFC bantamweight division after UFC 234.

Kang (15-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) earned a thrilling first-round submission victory over Teruto Ishihara (10-7-2 MMA, 3-5-1 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 234, giving him four victories in his past five fights.

“Mr. Perfect” won on a tear during the first part of his UFC run in 2014, but mandatory military service in his native South Korea kept him out of action for more than three years. He’s 2-1 since coming back, though, and wants to test himself against a top-ranked opponent at 135 pounds.

“I finished my military service in Korea, I got way stronger now,” Kang told reporters, including MMAjunkie, through an interpreter post-fight at UFC 234. “My goal for this year is to fight against a top 10 fighter in the UFC and hopefully next year a title shot.”

UFC 234 took place at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Kang’s victory over Ishihara aired on the ESPN-televised prelims prior to the main card on pay-per-view.

Although it lasted less than four minutes, Kang and Ishihara put on a memorable fight. They traded heavy shots for several minutes and each scored a knockdown. Ishihara couldn’t recover as well, though, and found himself in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Kang said it was his plan to produce an action-fight at UFC 234, and he said he’s glad to have got the stoppage.

“When I get into a fight I don’t want a split decision, I just want to fight and go for the KO,” Kang said. “That’s all I wanted to get in the octagon. At the first second I thought I got it, then he got out I was disappointed. But then I got (the submission).”

For complete coverage of UFC 234, check out the UFC Events section of the site.