In SBS' 'Pure Fighter', lightweight Cheonan Jjang and heavyweight Suwon Bison took the SFC championship belt and enjoyed the joy of victory.
'Pure Fighter', which aired on the 8th, concluded its 123-day journey with the SFC finals. Cheonan Jjang and Suwon Bison showed tenacious play against Sandbag and 10,000 won Eom Tae-gu, respectively.
Cheonan-jjang bowed deeply, saying, "My father came to support me. Thank you for raising me to be such a wonderful son." Suwon Bison joked, “Mom, dad, can I exercise properly?” and left a comment on winning, saying, “Please remember me as a genuine fighter who really loves MMA.” Bonus prize money was also awarded to Sandbag and 10,000 Won Eom Tae-gu, who fought brilliantly.
'Pure Fighter' focused on martial arts, an unpopular sport, and established itself as the first terrestrial broadcasting martial arts survival show. ‘Martial arts legends’ Choo Seong-hoon, Kim Dong-hyun, Jeong Chan-seong, and Choi Doo-ho participated as mentors. The four people who rose to the 'top' position decided to join 'Pure Fighters' based solely on their 'genuine love for martial arts.' The mentors generously passed on their ‘fighting secrets’ and did not hesitate to take on any role, sometimes as a coach and sometimes as a second. The mentors, who had not faced each other in the game, even gave the pleasure of seeing them compete directly despite the difference in weight class in a 'greatest demonstration ever'. The reason the mentors could be so passionate was because they were challengers who knocked on the door of ‘genuine fighters’ with nothing but their bodies and sincerity.
‘Pure Fighter’ focused on the sincerity of the challengers. Sandbag, who confessed to being a victim of school violence, attracted attention as a realistic version of 'The Glory'. Viewers cheered his sincerity as he had no choice but to start fighting. Sandbag couldn't help but fall in love with the martial arts sport he started by chance, and before he knew it, he had gone from being an ordinary challenger to being the runner-up in the lightweight division. Sandbag expressed his thoughts on being the runner-up, saying, “We will not stay in the past and move forward.”
The SFC semifinal match between Mr. Kim and 10,000 won Eom Tae-gu was another drama from 'Pure Fighter.' Both challengers were desperate, and they expressed that earnestness through fighting skills.
'Pure Fighter', which honestly expressed the sincerity of the challengers, set a meaningful record on the online platform. After only 7 episodes of broadcast, the cumulative number of related clip views on YouTube exceeded 20 million. On TikTok, the number of views for each major clip was well over 100,000. 'Pure Fighter', which plainly depicts the mentors' genuine love for martial arts and the challengers' sincerity, has been promised for next season.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr