What is MMA different from professional MMA at ASIAD?

The events of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) have received great attention in recent years. In UFC or ONE Championship, those are battles in an octagonal cage where its diễn biến brings a feeling of drama, even violence to the point of "brutality".

Therefore, the event of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) officially being included in the competition program of the Asian Games (ASIAD) is a historical milestone. This is an affirmation of the standardization process of the sport of combat with the greatest commercial attraction on the planet accompanying top sports with the Olympic spirit.

However, MMA at ASIAD does not have an octagon and is not as "brutal" as professional games.

Entertainment and commercial factors will have to give way to the requirement of absolute safety for athletes when competing for medals.

In professional arenas, the standard match time is 3 rounds × 5 minutes for regular matches, and 5 rounds × 5 minutes for title fights or main events.

The long period of time allows the fighter enough space to explore, consume the opponent's physical strength, and deploy long-range tactics.

At ASIAD, each match only lasts 2 to 3 rounds, each round is exactly 3 minutes.

This reduction stems from the nature of the sports festival, when athletes have to compete with high density, going through many rounds in just a few days.

The easiest point to recognize when watching MMA at ASIAD is the appearance of the fighters.

On the professional ring, male fighters only wear shorts; minimum protective equipment includes thin open-toe gloves (4 oz), tooth protection and lower body protection equipment. Hands and calves are released freely to maximize impact force and grip when tightening.

At ASIAD, that wildness is eliminated.

The mandatory outfit is to wear a restrictive jacket (Rashguard) combined with shorts in the Modern MMA event, or wear a martial arts uniform (Gi) in the Traditional MMA event.

Use thicker gloves (6 to 8 oz), with a thick sponge layer on the punch surface to reduce the impact pressure on the opponent's facial bones.

Must wear shinguards (Shinguards).

This armor significantly reduces the possibility of causing cuts, skin tears, or fractures – injuries that are common in the UFC.

The attacks also have a boundary between "commercial combat" and "Olympic safety".

The professional arena allows extremely lethal strikes such as elbow strikes, knee strikes to the body or to the head when the opponent is standing, and continuous punches when the opponent has fallen to the carpet (Ground-and-Pound).

And at ASIAD, elbow strikes will be completely banned, knee strikes on the head (in any posture, whether standing or lying down), Ground-and-Pound control (banned heavy, brutal punches on the face when the opponent has lost self-defense ability on the carpet), banned dangerous throwing/throwing techniques (banned headbutts on the opponent's head onto the carpet or twisting knee joints).

In addition, the authority of referees at ASIAD is pushed very high.

If at UFC, referees only stop the fight when the fighter is unconscious or no longer able to defend himself, then at ASIAD, referees are ready to intervene early as soon as the lock has entered a dangerous position or when a fighter receives a weak attack.

Victory is decided by a knockout (KO), a technical knockout (TKO), an opponent's defeat or a referee's decision.