LION Championship 21 explodes with new format on the first day of the 2025 event series

The focus of this year's LION Championship is the application of new competition formats including MMA Striking, MMA Ground Fight, MMA Duo and MMA Gauntlet.

Opening LION Championship 21 were 3 MMA Striking matches (standing combat), in 2 weight classes: 56kg and 65kg. After dramatic competitions, the three outstanding names won respectively: Le Van Vu (56kg weight class), Nguyen Van Lam (65kg weight class), Tran Quang Khai (65kg weight class).

The Duo format brings a lot of drama with 2 parallel matches.

Meanwhile, the MMA Duo and MMA Gauntlet formats quickly attracted the attention of fans. On the first day of the event series, the focus was on the Duo match between Raptor MMA (Nguyen Tien Long – Nguyen Trung Hai) and Tank Club (Nguyen Xuan Phuong – Nguyen Ngoc Thuc).

In less than 1 minute of competition, Nguyen Trung Hai quickly strangled and knocked out Nguyen Ngoc Thuc. Immediately after, Nguyen Tien Long finished off Xuan Phuong by TKO, bringing a lightning victory to Raptor MMA after only 55 seconds.

In the Gauntlet format (3 vs 3 with the positions of vanguard, center, and general) between AGOGE (Le Nguyen Phuc - Le Minh Hoang - Phan Huy Hoang) and Tank Club (Pham Van Tien - Phan Thanh Tung - Nguyen Cong Tuan), AGOGE "Pioneer" Pham Van Tien opened the match to welcome Tank Club "Pioneer" Le Nguyen Phuc. With a style of continuously attacking the opponent's right flank, Van Tien gained the advantage in the first minutes of the match, while Nguyen Phuc calmly and proactively narrowed the gap using close-range punches. As a result, there was a unanimous victory for AGOGE's vanguard, winning the right to continue fighting with Tank Club's "center".

The Gauntlet format requires calculation between matches

In the next match, AGOGE withdrew Pham Van Tien, replaced him with center Phan Thanh Tung to welcome center Le Minh Hoang of Tank Club. Compared to the first round, the second round progressed very quickly when Minh Hoang proactively rushed in to pick up his opponent, the two sides continuously fought for control of the position on the mat but there were no unexpected situations. As a result, Minh Hoang won by consensus (if all 3 referees have the same result towards a fighter, this is called a consensus victory), and was allowed to stay and compete with the opponent's "main general".

In the final match, Tank Club decided to replace Minh Hoang with "leader" Phan Huy Hoang to welcome "leader" AGOGE Nguyen Cong Tuan. Entering the match, the two fighters used many high-speed punches, however, Phan Huy Hoang's accuracy seemed to be better, at 4 minutes and 53 seconds of the first round between the two fighters, Cong Tuan fell after a series of punches from Huy Hoang. The final victory went to Tank Club.

Closing the competition night, the new formats showed the heat and drama, promising to open a new era for the Vietnamese MMA arena.

LION Championship 2025 Schedule:

LION Championship 21 April 12 in Hanoi

LION Championship 22 May 10 in Hanoi

LION Championship 23 June 14 in Ho Chi Minh City

LION Championship 24 July 12 in Hanoi

LION Championship 25 August 9 in Cam Ranh City, Khanh Hoa

LION Championship 26 September 13 in Hanoi

LION Championship 27 October 11 in Hanoi

LION Championship 28 November 8 in Phu Quoc, Kien Giang

LION Championship 29 December 13 in Hanoi

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/lion-championship-21-bung-no-voi-the-thuc-moi-trong-ngay-khoi-dau-chuoi-su-kien-nam-2025-20250413102456493.htm