Mixed Martial Arts

Trần Ngọc Lượng (above) beats Lại Thế Toàn in Lion Championship 6 last month in Hà Nội. The LC7 will be organised on July 8 in HCM City. Photos of VMMAF

 HÀ NỘI — The Lion Championship 7 (LC7) will be on July 8 featuring fierce battles at the Rạch Miễu Gymnasium in HCM City.

The main card will be between Trần Ngọc Lượng and Trần Minh Nhựt in the men's 60kg category in class A.

It will be Lượng's third Lion Championship bout in a row. The national jujitsu champion beat Robson De Oliveira Soares of Brazil of C88 Jiu-Jitsu Club in April in a controversial match in HCM City.

Later the Asian silver medallist of Saigon Sports Club needed only three minutes to win by submission over Vietnamese Lại Thế Toàn from Bùi Duy Vinh Club early last month in Hà Nội.

He needs one more win to advance to the top 10 ranking which is enough to challenge Nguyễn Trần Duy Nhất, the current 60kg category champion.

Trần Minh Nhựt (right) will face strong Trần Ngọc Lượng in the men's 60kg category in class A.

On Saturday, his rival is much tougher than others. Nhựt from the famous Liên Phong Club is No 5 in the rankings.

He made an impressive debut knocking out young talent Nguyễn Trung Hải in the LC5.

After watching Lượng's previous matches, Nhựt believed that Lượng was good in both striking and grappling techniques. His opponent was much stronger than talented Hải in his previous bout. Meanwhile, Lượng's fighting style was also special.

“Lượng is a stronger rival than many others I have competed against. He is a master in jujitsu so I need to maintain a gap between him," said Nhựt who has flexible fighting skills.

"I had a sparring bout with Lượng in the past. He is strong, active and good with his rear-naked chokes."

Their meeting is one of eight matches of class A in the evening.

The bout between Nguyễn Huy Sắc (California Fitness & Yoga Centre) and Đỗ Phúc Hậu (MMA Fight Academy) in the men's 65kg has been pushed up to be the co-main card.

It replaces a match between Phạm Ngọc Cảnh and Lê Huy Hoàng in the men's 56kg which could not happen because of Cảnh's back injury.

A poster of the Lion Championship 7.

Sắc has an impressive record and ranks No 3 in his weight class. Despite being the oldest athlete of the event at 38, Sắc is a dynamic fighter.

In his return to the LC, he wanted to show that his loss to Nguyễn Tiến Long last year was an accident.

Hậu is currently No 6. He is 20, much younger than Sắc. His strong points are not only his youth but also his longer arm span and height.

His MMA skills are on-point. He knows how to put pressure on rivals and his strong and accurate punches bring him many points.

In Class B, organisers welcomed newcomers Joseph Hanlon, Felipe Negochadle and Mirko Maurice Horn of C88 Jiu-Jitsu.

Negochadle will play Nguyễn Phương Nam in the men's 65kg. While his Vietnamese rival is still new in the MMA competition, the Brazilian has competed in two MMA matches in Việt Nam at the AFC 23 and AFC 25 events. He won one and lost one.

His country fellow Hanlon will fight Hà Viết Hiếu in the men's 77kg and Horn will see Văn Công Quốc in the men's 70kg.

There are two women's bouts in the LC7.

Hồ Thị Ngọc Bích and Lê Thị Thúy Vy will compete in the 52kg match in class A and Trần Thanh Phương Ngân will face Nguyễn Thị Hương in the 60kg match in class B.

In other news, MMA champion Trần Quang Lộc, holding the men's 70kg belt, has announced his retirement due to injury.

"I decided to quit more than once but I returned and fought hard. This time I want to really retire. I can't bear heavy practice and I have suffered more injuries," he said. "I can't abuse my body for my passion any more."

His retirement means the 70kg belt will be forfeited. All fighters will have a chance to grab it. Among them, Kamil Michal Nguyễn Văn who is a two-time loser to Lộc in previous LC matches will be the most favoured candidate. VNS