Muay Thai 

Huỳnh Hoàng Phi (right) wins a deal with the world leading martial arts organisation ONE Championship after winning at the Muay Thai Rampage x Road to ONE: Việt Nam event on December 21 in HCM CIty. — Photos courtesy of Shadow Entertainment

HCM CITY — Vietnamese fighter Huỳnh Hoàng Phi won his fight and one of the biggest ever contracts to compete at the world largest martial arts arena ONE Championship 2025.

On December 21 in HCM City, Phi defeated country-fellow Huỳnh Văn Tuấn by points in the men's strawweight (56.25kg) category, in the final of the Muay Thai Rampage x Road to ONE: Việt Nam event held at the Tôn Dật Tiên walking street in District 7.

Phi of the Saigon Sports Club set his domination in the first two rounds, with strong low kicks that collected a whole number of valuable points. 

HCM City Muay-Kickboxing Club's Tuấn, the Asian kickboxing champion, fought back in the third set, but it was not enough to bring the judges back on side. 

Phi was announced winner of the match, but it was a controversial decision and led to much anger from supporters of Tuấn and other spectators.

Taking the same honour with Phi was Moroccan Walid Sakhraji of Venum Training Camp, who beat Vietnamese Trương Cao Minh Phát of Saigon Sports Club after three thrilling rounds in the men's flyweight category (60.75kg).

Moroccan Walid Sakhraji (left) beat Trương Cao Minh Phát to take the second contract available at the Muay Thai Rampage x Road to ONE: Việt Nam event.

'The Red Lion' Sakhraji opened attacks from the first moments of the match and maintained his domination until the end of the second, forcing Vietnamese champion Phát onto the defensive.

Sakhraji took his rival down with a heavy head shot in the first round, but Phát quickly stood up and continued to fight.

The World Boxing Council Muay Thai belt holder Phát seemed to be offering little in the way of a challenge to Sakhraji in the final round. However, exhausted Sakhraji had to move around the ring to keep away from Phát's attempts, but still suffered a series of powerful punches that made his face swelling and bruised. 

The Moroccan fell twice and was counted out by referee. Luckily, he still managed to rise up and was able to hold out until the end of the match.

The win meant Sakhraji increased his record to 16 win in 17 fights, while Phát's winning streak of 12 came to an end.

Fight pundits said it was a regrettable loss for the Vietnamese, who failed to score in the first two rounds. He just needed 30 additional seconds to knock-out Sakhraji who was very dizzy at the time.

The two winning fighters received a huge bonus of VNĐ100,000 million (US$4,000) each and will compete at the ONE Championship 2025 under a $100,000 contract.

It is the highest value contract that a Vietnamese fighter has earned in history of the ONE Championship.

Road to ONE is an international fighter selection programme which has been implemented by ONE Championship since 2020.

Shadow Entertainment, a leading company in the field of organising martial arts and entertainment events in Việt Nam, decided to bring Road to ONE to the country in order to bring it more into the world fighting arena.

The total prize value of the tournament is up to VNĐ6 billion ($236,000). — VNS