MMA LION Championship 21 with many innovations

LION Championship 21 takes place at 19:00 on April 12 at Tay Ho Stadium, Hanoi.

Organized by the Vietnam General Martial Arts Federation (VMMAF) and Vietnam General Martial Arts Joint Stock Company (Vimma), Lion Championship entered the 4th year with many noticeable changes. In particular, the Lion Championship 21 event introduces 4 MMA Striking format (MMA standing), MMA Ground Fight (MMA Dia Chien), MMA Duo (MMA Song) and MMA Gauntlet (MMA Luan Chien).

This is the first time, in addition to the 1 vs 1 competition, fighters can participate in tactical matches with the coordination between teammates in the 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3 formats, expected to bring an extremely exciting and attractive atmosphere.

In the opening round of matches, the matches in the MMA Striking format will take place from the quarter-finals with the matches being Le Van Vu - Pham Thanh Binh (56kg), Nguyen Van Lam - Luu Huy Duc (65kg), Tran Quang Khai - Nguyen Dang Khanh (65kg).

The highlight of the event is the MMA Gauntlet format (War) with the confrontation between the two MMA clubs in the North and South. Agoge with three representatives Phan Thanh Tung - top 2 category 56kg, Tran Viet Anh - promising young fighter of the year 2024 and rookie Nguyen Cong Tuan, will face three representatives from tank Club, Dang Hoang Minh - top 7 category 77kg, Phan Huy Hoang and rookie Le Nguyen Phuc.

The two teams in the MMA Gauntlet format will send representatives to play in turn. A special feature of this format is the winner of the previous match has the right to stay with the next member of the opponent's team, only to the fighter to lose.

In addition, the competition order of the two teams will only be announced right before the event takes place. Whichever team is still a member or wins the final match will be the overall winner.

In the MMA Duo format, the appearance of two completely new faces has attracted attention. Boxer Nguyen Xuan Phuong, the champion of the 2019 and 2023 SEA Games, will accompany his teammate Nguyen Ngoc Thuc - national kickboxing grandmaster. The two will face the duo Nguyen Tien Long - Asian MMA gold medalist, current national champion Sambo and teammates Nguyen Trung Hai.

The MMA Duo competition rules allow all members of the two teams to compete on the same stage for 10 minutes. If a fighter is determined to have lost by knockout, locked down or given up, that fighter will be eliminated, the match will continue with the remaining member and all members of the opposing team.

After 10 minutes of play, the team with the most or overwhelming number of members remaining deadly will be determined to be the winner.

In the traditional professional MMA format, the focus is the confrontation between the talent born in 2003 Le Huy Hoang - the fighter ranked 36kg and Le Van Tuan glove - the famous glove after the drama with Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in 2022.

After two years of training, Van Tuan is considered to have made remarkable improvements in his skills, against a Le Huy Hoang who is enthusiastically competing for the first place in the tournament.

The MMA Ground Fight format witnessed a confrontation between two veterans with opposing platforms. Boxer Ninh Hai Anh with his top artistic skills will face the national capital Nguyen Van Linh.