Mixed martial arts

 

HÀ NỘI — All fighters showed their readiness for their LION Championship bouts at the weight-in and face-off session on September 12 in Hà Nội.

The 26th LION Championship (LC26), the national most wanted mixed martial arts series, will be held on September 13.

Featuring seven thrilling matches, the event promises to blow up the Tây Hồ Gymnasium with both MMA Pro and MMA Striking styles.

Despite being the main card of the night, WBC Muaythai champion Trương Cao Minh Phát of Việt Nam and Aaron Clarke, an Irish champion, in the men's 61kg were almost quiet throughout their sessions.

There was no contact, no trash talk — both fighters kept everything under wraps until the bout. Phát only shared a short clip, inviting fans to watch his debut performance at the LION Championship.

They made the match between world Vietnamese traditional martial art champion Nguyễn Hợp Hải and big-mouth Danh Quốc in the men's 60kg class the highlight of the day.

They pushed each other, and Quốc’s attempted kick escalated tensions to the point where referees had to step in and separate them.

 

Quốc, who was defeated by Hải in the same championship two years ago, threatened to make Hải “retire early” after their clash, while Hải fired back, telling Quốc to bring a stretcher to the octagon.

They pushed each other hard and Quốc's attempt to kick his opponent made their face-off so tense that referees had to pull them away.

Quốc, who lost to Hải also in this championship two years ago, threatened to 'help' Hải unexpectedly retire after their match. Meanwhile Hải asked Quốc to come to the octagon with a stretcher.

Two other international matches are between Võ Minh Nghĩa of Việt Nam and Tha Vanthorn of Cambodia in the men's 57kg and Vietnamese Phan Vũ Bảo and Cambodian Von Kimcheng in the men's 56kg.

It will be Nghĩa's second match in three months and he expected to take another win.

In the LC24 in July, he, in pair with teammate Lê Văn Vũ, defeated Roem Kakada and Sot Seyha, also from Cambodia, in the MMA Duo style.

This time, Nghĩa will go solo and his rival is much stronger with his master skills of Kun Khmer and kickboxing technique that helped him defeat many rivals from the Middle East in the Asian Kickboxing Championship 2024.

In the later match, Bảo will make his LION Championship debut after earning a silver medal at the National Kickboxing Championship 2025.

The newcomer is eager to showcase his striking skills, with low kicks regarded as his key weapon. However, Kimcheng promised to be a formidable opponent, having won Asian Kickboxing silver last year and competed twice at the continental level.

All LC26 matches will be live aired on VTVcab channel and the tournament's fanpage from 8pm. _ VNS