MMA LION Championship 17 schedule

The highlight of the event was the confrontation between Harry John Smith and his opponent Pham Thanh Ngan. The two had met at LION Championship 06 with the Scottish boxer winning. After that, Harry Smith had another victory over Tran Viet Anh to appear in 11th place in the 65kg category.

However, during the time Harry John Smith decided to take a year off from competition, Pham Thanh Ngan made remarkable progress. He had 3 more consecutive victories ending early against Le Van Trinh (LC 08), Nguyen Trung Hai (LC 11) and especially a knockout of Trinh Xuan Anh (LC 13) - Harry's teammate at Vietnam Top Team - to rise to 9th place.

Now, a rematch between Thanh Ngan and Harry John Smith is inevitable, as both aim to climb up the 65kg rankings, which boasts notable names such as Nguyen Vu Phuong Hoai, Nghiem Van Y and champion Felipe Negochadle.

A special match at LION Championship 17 is the competition between guest from Brazil - Felype Morais de Souza and the boxer currently ranked 1st in the 60kg category - Tran Ngoc Luong.

After his submission victory over Bui Truong Sinh at LION Championship 12, Tran Ngoc Luong is a strong candidate to compete for the championship belt. Meanwhile, Felype Morais de Souza has a strong Muay Thai background, having competed for the championship at Muay Thai Super Champ - one of the most famous arenas in Thailand.

Tran Ngoc Luong and Felype Morais took place in the 61kg class, as part of a plan to organize friendly matches between Vietnamese MMA fighters and international opponents, to increase opportunities for boxers to improve their skills.

Another match that received special attention was between Dam Vu Quoc Cong and Nguyen Huu Han. At LION Championship 15, Quoc Cong brought the essence of Wing Chun to the MMA ring to defeat Nguyen Tuan Anh in the second round.

In his second appearance at the tournament, Quoc Cong will face a challenge that is expected to be much more difficult, which is the martial artist who won the gold medal in Wushu Sanshou at the 2022 National Sports Festival - Nguyen Huu Han. Also at LION Championship 15, the martial artist born in 1999 only needed less than 2 rounds to defeat Le Van Trinh.

MMA LION Championship 17 will take place from 8:00 p.m. on September 7 at Tay Ho Stadium.