KHÁNH HÒA — Trần Ngọc Lượng proved himself the top fighter in the 60kg category of the national mixed martial art community after his knockout win in the LION Championship 25 on August 16 in Khánh Hòa Province.

Ranked in the top place following his remarkable record of eight wins and one loss, Lượng added another win and a belt after beating challenger Lê Văn Tuần in the LC 25 fight night watched by thousands of supporters at the Cam Rank Square.

With a hope of being the first two-belt champion, Tuần, the 56kg belt holder, set his domination in the first round, landing a number of high kicks and strong punches on Lượng.

However, the second round went to Lượng, who applied his grappling skills that made him the national jujitsu champion to get Tuần down on the floor several times.

Not only was his wrestling ability good, Lượng's low kick was another weapon. His series of powerful kicks early in the third round injured Tuần's leg and he threw in the towel.

Lượng was announced the champion with a KO result.

In the earlier title bout, Lò Thị Phung couldn't continue her winning streak after losing to Nguyễn Vũ Quỳnh Hoa in the women's 52kg category.

 

Phung, a former kindergarten teacher, tried to bring into play her grappling skills that helped her win three previous matches by submission.

But Hoa, who is fluent in three martial arts genres, was not an easy rival. She was the first ever fighter to successfully escape from Phung's locks and fought back strongly.

Her strong defence and flexible moves helped Hoa avoid Phung's attempts while punching back effectively.

Phung couldn't lock her rival as expected, while her attacks failed. She quickly got exhausted and could only avoid a knockout loss.

Hoa became the new champion of the category with a unanimous victory in her second challenge. The first time was in 2022 when she unexpectedly lost to 'muay thai queen' Trần Thị Thanh Trúc, who is now on the coaching board of Phung.

The MMA Duo fight was also a highlight of the night.

Nguyễn Ngọc Thức and Nguyễn Xuân Phương of Tank Club called for a rematch with  Nguyễn Tiến Long - Nguyễn Thành Thoan of Raptor MMA after they lost quickly in their meeting two months ago.

The national champions Thức and Phương were much better than their rivals, as only striking skills were allowed in their match.

Just four minutes into the bout, referees had to call a timeout for medical support as Long suffered a deep cut on his forehead. 

After being treated for several minutes, the match restarted but was suspended just a minute later as Long's injury bled again.

The referees discussed with doctors and decided to end the match as Long could not continue.

A technical knockout win was given to Thức and Phương.

In other fights, Bạch Văn Nghĩa beat Trần Minh Nhựt in the men's 60kg; Umed Gulmamadov won over Adel Iabbarov in the men's 65kg; Trần Trà My floored Karina Veis in the women's 52kg; Đinh Văn Khuyến defeated Nguyễn Thanh Duy in the men's 56kg; Quàng Văn Minh overcame Phạm Thanh Ngân in the men's 65kg and Võ Tiến Đạt beat Lê Nguyên Phúc in the men's 56kg. VNS