Team MMA fights appear for the first time in Vietnam

On the afternoon of February 21, the LION Championship organizing committee introduced and explained the 4 new competition formats to the units, fighters and the media. This is an opportunity for the parties to have a chance to discuss before the tournament announces the final official regulations next March.

Before introducing the new formats, the LION Championship Organizing Committee reiterated three notable updates in the 2025 competition rules: allowing elbows while lying down, allowing 12-6 elbows, and redefining the lying position.

MMA Striking has many adjustments.

The MMA Striking format prioritizes action in the standing position. When in the standing position - defined as the fighter having no body parts other than the 2 hands and 2 feet touching the floor, the fighters will use all the techniques of striking that cause damage by collision (striking: punches - kicks - elbows - knees), upper body - lower body takedowns and submission moves using chokes.

When one of the two fighters falls to the ground, the match is stopped and the neutral position is returned.

MMA Striking is an opportunity for athletes in martial arts such as Traditional Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Sanshou, Boxing, Taekwondo, Karate… to participate. This is the group of martial arts that is considered to have the largest number of practitioners in Vietnam.

MMA Ground Fight format prioritizes fighters with strengths in subjects such as Wrestling, Judo, Jujitsu, Kurash, Sambo...

The match begins in a standing position, in which the fighters are prohibited from using any striking techniques; only submissions, takedowns and chokes are allowed. Once a fighter is in a grounded position, he or she may use striking techniques according to the LION Championship MMA rules, along with chokes.

In addition, the organizers also calculated mandatory rules such as: prohibiting backward movement in situations where 1 fighter is standing - 1 is lying on the floor; prohibiting actively lying on the floor if there is no physical contact with the opponent. All are aimed at maintaining the continuity and positivity of the match.

The two formats MMA Striking and MMA Ground Fight are expected to be held in 3 weight classes: 56kg - 60kg - 65kg, which is the common physique of Vietnamese fighters. Fighters will compete in 3 rounds: quarter-finals (events LC 21 - LC 22 - LC 23) - semi-finals (LC 24 - LC 25 - LC 26) and finals (LC 27 - LC 28 - LC 29).

Quarter-final and semi-final matches last 3 rounds of 3 minutes, final matches have a maximum time of 3 rounds of 5 minutes. The scoring system is based on the MMA LION Championship competition rules issued by VMMAF.

After the two singles competition formats, the next two team MMA competition formats received special attention from the delegates present at the presentation, which were MMA Duo and MMA Gauntlet.

MMA Duo is a format in which 2 fighters fight 2 fighters at the same time, under the supervision of 2 referees on the floor. With the total weight of the two teams agreed with the organizers before the match is announced. An MMA Duo match will take place continuously for a 10-minute round.

The MMA Duo rules are similar to the MMA LION Championship rules, the biggest difference is that all kicks are not allowed on fighters in the down position. If a fighter is judged to be incapacitated (knocked out, choked, injured, etc.) or withdraws, the match is paused to remove the remaining fighter from the competition area.

The remaining fighters will continue to compete in the same stance and position (before the stoppage occurred).

MMA Gauntlet is well received by the audience.

At the end of the match, the team with more fighters remaining on the arena will be considered the winner. If both members are still present, the team with the most damage or superiority from both members will be considered the winner. A draw is determined when there is no significant difference between the two teams.

MMA Gauntlet is a competition format between 2 teams with the following conditions: Each team has 3 fighters; The maximum total weight of the members is 200kg. The minimum weight of 1 fighter is 60kg, maximum 70kg; Each team is allowed to have a reserve fighter; In case a reserve fighter is needed, the total weight after replacement must still be at a maximum of 200kg; A match has a maximum of 7 rounds, each round is 5 minutes, with a 2-minute break between rounds; The order of the teams is kept completely confidential by the organizers and must be sent at least 24 hours before the match; The fighters will compete in turn in the order: vanguard - center - general.

The bouts last 5 minutes under MMA LION Championship rules. A bout is only won if there is an early finish (knockout, submission, injury, forfeit) or a unanimous scorecard (all 3 judges score 1 fighter as the winner). All other results are considered draws, both fighters are disqualified and are not allowed to return, moving on to the next match.

Mai Anh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dau-mma-dong-doi-lan-dau-xuat-hien-tai-viet-nam-ar927587.html