Road FC 79: Solovyov meets Park Si-won in Seoul on Nov. 1; Haraguchi, Wada on card

Two fighters who lost years to a tournament that fell apart meet on Nov. 1 at Road FC 79. Artur Solovyov and Park Si-won were once on a collision course in Road FC's global 70 kg tournament. Now they fight at 72 kg in the main event, three five-minute rounds at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul.

MMAPLANET calls it a bout that follows 25 lost months for both men, and for each it is a chance to rebuild. Solovyov reached the tournament final with a first-round knockout of Park Hae-jin and a guillotine finish of Shin Dong-guk. He never fought in the final. Road FC says his camp demanded a much bigger purse and talks failed. Solovyov said on social media that Road FC told him he would not fight the final unless he signed a contract for the next year. Kamil Magomedov took the title by beating Nandin-Erdene Kim In-seong the following June.

Park Si-won was the man Solovyov was supposed to face in the semifinal. He had pounded out Captain Africa in round one but broke a hand in that fight, and Shin Dong-guk stepped in against Solovyov. When Road FC rebooked Park's semifinal against Nandin-Erdene, a herniated disc ruled him out before the fight.

His return was rough. He lost his first pro fight, to Yoon Tae-yoon in June at welterweight, then went back to lightweight and beat Vanderson Ferreira by second-round TKO in March of this year. In May he lost a decision to Magomedov at 73 kg. Solovyov, meanwhile, has been idle since the Shin Dong-guk win.

Japan has two fighters on the card. Shin Haraguchi meets Choi Eun-seok at featherweight, and Serina Wada fights Park So-yeon at women's atomweight. Also booked are Byeon Ye-jun against Ar Er Tu Li at 59 kg, Lee Jae-hoon against Sardor Absatorov, and Cho Jun-gon against Jeong Jae-bok at flyweight. Watch how Solovyov looks after the long layoff, since ring rust is the main unknown in the main event.