Vietnamese mixed martial arts:

To prepare for the 33rd SEA Games and 20th ASIAD, the Vietnam Mixed Martial Arts Federation (VMMAF) has planned to select athletes, aiming for the best results in the international arena in the coming time.

Professionalize the tournament system

Vietnamese mixed martial arts athletes have the opportunity to participate in the 20th ASIAD after the Olympic Council of Asia officially announced the sport's content. Photo: VMMAF

In recent years, mixed martial arts has developed strongly in Vietnam with many attractive tournaments, especially the Vietnam National MMA Championship (Lion Championship). To select forces for the 33rd SEA Games and ASIAD 2026, VMMAF plans to select athletes through major tournaments this year. These are the MMA Championship 2025 starting from April 12, and the National MMA Club Cup 2025 taking place from June 23 to 29 in Hanoi.

According to VMMAF Vice President Nguyen Tuan Cuong, Lion Championship 2025 will be held with 9 events, taking place in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). Fighters will compete in new formats including: Striking, Ground Fight, Duo, Gauntlet. Testing 4 new competition formats will help fighters gain more experience and help Vietnamese MMA prepare more thoroughly for the 33rd SEA Games and 20th ASIAD.

The 2025 National MMA Club Cup will compete in 3 age groups with 9 weight classes. “With the National MMA Club Cup being part of the national sports competition system issued by the Vietnam Sports Department, along with the appearance of MMA at the 20th ASIAD, it has opened a clear path for high-achieving athletes, aiming for the international arena,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Tuan Cuong.

Deputy Head of the VMMAF Referee Board Tran Dai Trieu shared: “Towards the goal of professionalizing the national MMA championship, according to the plan, each Lion Championship event will have about 10 to 12 matches, including matches applying the new format along with some traditional MMA matches with two formats of dual combat and rotational combat of team competition nature. From the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals, there will be two new formats of standing combat and ground combat to find the owner of the championship belt”.

Invest systematically for long-term development

Sports expert Nguyen Hong Minh commented that participating in the competition events at the 33rd SEA Games will be a great opportunity for Vietnamese MMA to affirm its position in Southeast Asia. However, the 20th ASIAD arena is completely different because the level of fighters is very high. For example, countries such as Kazakhstan, Iran, China, Korea, and Japan have many strong fighters. Therefore, Vietnamese MMA needs to identify the weight classes with advantages to focus on investing in winning medals, and at the same time, it needs to prepare for the long term, especially in the combat events to hope for achievements.

According to VMMAF Communications Department Head Dao Ngoc Tuoc, through the results of the Lion Championship 2025 and the National MMA Club Cup 2025, fighters with good achievements will be considered for the national team. The selected athletes will focus on training with specialized training programs, developing techniques in both striking and grappling. In addition, the Federation also plans to send athletes to compete in international tournaments in Thailand, China... to improve their skills. At the same time, it plans to cooperate and invite coaches and experts from countries with developed MMA such as the US, Russia, Brazil or Thailand to train the team.

Head of the High Performance Sports Department, Vietnam Sports Administration (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Hoang Quoc Vinh said that Vietnamese sports have a great advantage in martial arts such as: Jujitsu, kurash, kickboxing, muay Thai and especially taekwondo, karate, judo, vovinam... These are the sports that have brought many medals to the country's sports at ASIAD. Some Vietnamese martial artists have made their names in the international arena, such as Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat (muay Thai) or Tran Quang Loc (MMA). Therefore, MMA is a sport with the potential to compete for medals for Vietnamese sports in the international arena. However, MMA is a sport with high physical requirements, so investing in gyms, modern equipment and a scientific nutrition regimen is very important. Athletes need an international standard training environment to develop their full potential.

In order to develop this sport in the direction of professionalism and high achievements, in the coming time, the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department will closely coordinate with the Vietnam MMA Federation to organize more tournaments such as Lion Championship to help athletes have the opportunity to compete regularly; support MMA clubs nationwide to create a foundation for long-term development.

Hopefully, with proper investment in human resources, training, facilities and reasonable competition strategies, the Vietnamese MMA team will achieve its goals in the international arena in the future.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/vo-thuat-tong-hop-viet-nam-huong-toi-dau-truong-quoc-te-697330.html