Mixed martial arts

Quang Lê is declared the winner of the bantamweight match of the UFC Fight Night Des Moines on May 4 in the US. Photos courtesy of the organisers

HÀ NỘI — Fighter Quang Lê won an historic victory at the UFC Fight Night Des Moines, the world largest mixed martial arts arena, on May 4 in the US.

It was not only his personal best, but also Việt Nam's first victory at this globally prestigious fight.

Known as the 'Bang', he defeated 'Dreamkiller' of Peru, Gaston Bolanos, who was considered stronger of the two fighters in the second round, with a rear-naked-choke at the Wells Fargo Arena in Iowa.

"I was extremely nervous before this match, because I really needed to win to continue with the UFC after two straight losses previously. I sacrificed everything to be here. I am so happy to win this match," Quang said.

In his third time on the octagon, Quang applied his strong grapping technique to resist Bolanos' striking attempts in their bantamweight division (between 52.2 and 53.5kg). 

Quang Lê (above) tries to apply rear-naked-choke to knock out Gaston Bolanos

The Vietnamese was resilient and stayed strong under many elbows and combination of punches and kicks in the first round. He tried to wrestle the Peruvian rival on the ground and succeeded when half way into the second round.

Quang was in the mount position and his rear-naked-choke rendered Bolanos unconscious. It was a submission win for the 34-year-old, who suffered one narrow loss and a knockout defeat in his first two bouts.

The win gave Quang US$50,000 in prize money and a 'Performance of the Night' title, as well as giving him the opportunity to continue competing on the UFC stage. VNS