he made his second octagon appearance at "ufc 88", capturing a split decision over "the ultimate fighter 7" alumnus matt brown. during this fight, kim's conditioning was very poor due to jet lag, and visa problems prevented him from bringing a coach. in the first round, kim threatened brown with a standing rear-naked choke and took brown's back on numerous occasions but became exhausted in the second. in the third, kim used some effective ground-and-pound and cut brown with an elbow. all three judges scored the bout 29–28, two in kim's favor and one in brown's favor. the decision was contested by the crowd in attendance with noticeable booing.