ixed martial arts 

Trương Cao Minh Phát of Việt Nam (right) lands a kick on Aaron Clarke of Ireland in the main fight at the LION Championship 26 on September 13 in Hà Nội. Photos courtesy of VMMAF

HÀ NỘI — Trương Cao Minh Phát has shown the skills that earned him a WBC Muay Thai belt with an impressive performance against Irishman Aaron Clarke in the main card fight at the LION Championship 26 on September 13 in Hà Nội.

The national mixed martial art series came back to the capital city in style after a previous event was held for the first time in Cam Ranh, Khánh Hòa Province.

Champion Phát established his dominance early in the first round with thunderous left kicks, leaving Clarke on the defensive at Tây Hồ Gymnasium, which was filled to capacity for the bout. 

Clarke, the two-time winner of ISKA Kickboxing Ireland, struggled to evade the blows and had little chance to unleash his trademark heavy punches and powerful kicks in the men's 61kg class.

The Irishman tried to fight back in later rounds, but Phát demonstrated his strength, precision and efficiency, winning with a unanimous decision from the referees and ending an emotional night of competition.

In the men's 60kg, Danh Quốc took his revenge, knocking down rival Nguyễn Hợp Hải, who had beat him in the same arena two years ago.

Quốc, known as Việt Nam's McGregor, met with some difficulty in the first round, when Hải showed his mastery of traditional Vietnamese martial arts.

Danh Quốc (left) beat Nguyễn Hợp Hải in their rematch.

However, the world champion was quickly exhausted under Quốc's rapid series of punches and kicks.

A powerful knee in the third round helped Quốc floor Hải, and he took his rival down with a number of punches, continuing until referees decided to stop the bout and gave him a technical knockout win.

In an earlier match, veteran fighter Trần Trọng Kim showed that age was just a number as he easily defeated young rival Nguyễn Phú Thịnh in the men's 56kg class.

After a brief feeling-out period, both sides launched consecutive attacks, drawing loud encouragement from the crowd.

Kim won thanks to his outstanding attack accuracy, demonstrating his experience and bravery.

The night kicked off with an aggressive KO win by Vietnamese Võ Minh Nghĩa over Cambodian Tha Vanthorn in the striking 57kg category. A punch from Nghĩa in the last few seconds of the first round knocked Vanthorn down and ended his journey at the same time.

In the men's 60kg striking bout, Nguyễn Tiến Phát beat Đỗ Nguyễn Minh Quyền.

Meanwhile Von Kimcheng of Cambodia took the only win for an international fighter, beating Việt Nam's Phan Vũ Bảo in the striking 56kg category. Kimcheng's Kun Khmer kicks and knees were too strong for the Vietnamese martial artist.

Von Kimcheng of Cambodia (right) was the only foreigner to win on September 13.

Nguyễn Trung Hải's ground-and-pound attack on Nguyễn Quốc Huy in the second round was the final touch for his TKO win in the Pro 65kg category.

The win boosted Hải's confidence to challenge Nguyễn Ngọc Thức, the winner of two straight matches in the LC24 and LC25, for the next matchup.

The next LION championship event will be held on October 11 in Hà Nội. VNS