The second Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships will be held at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh from July 11 to 13. The tournament is organised by NOCC, the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA), VIP Sports and the Cambodian Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
Athletes from 17 countries have signed up to take part in the tournament: Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Singapore, Bahrain, Mongolia, Macau, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Tajikistan and India.
Athletes from more than 20 countries are expected to take part in the tournament before registration closes next Friday.
Cambodia will send a total of 16 athletes to the MMA tournament, including 11 men and five women.
The 11 men taking part in the contest are Thean Ang, Chan Rothana, Hung Chanreach, Aye Virak Kamchit Puthong, Han Him, Pen Sok Panha, Long La, Lin Saroth, Hung Kim Hiang, Mias Meul and Seng Chanritikul.
The five female fighters are Vaughn Van Nita, Som Taroth, Tun Sreypin, Khew Chenda Rath and Nov Sreypov.
Vas Chamroeung, secretary general of the National Stadium of Thailand (NOCC) and secretary general of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, explained at a press conference on Wednesday that the tournament doubles as a qualifying round for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) to be held in Thailand in November.
He added that the tournament is a great opportunity for Cambodian mixed martial artists to compete at a higher level and face top fighters from several countries.
He estimated that the cost of hosting the second Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships would be around $300,000, with AMMA covering nearly 90 percent of the total.
Chamroen also highlighted that next year the NOCC will be hosting an all-new event called the “Prime Minister Hun Manet Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship,” which will provide a platform for practitioners of Cambodia's traditional martial arts to showcase their skills, while also incorporating traditional martial arts into the world of MMA.
“The Cambodian government, especially Prime Minister Hun Manet, is paying close attention to mixed martial arts competitions,” he said.
“Next year, the prime minister will host a mixed martial arts championship named after himself, showcasing ancient Cambodian martial arts such as Kun Khmer and Kun Bokator.”
“So anyone who practices Khmer martial arts can take part in the competition and we also accept foreign participants,” Chamroen said.
“In this new mandate, the government has given even higher priority to the sports sector. This makes us optimistic as sports organisers as the government does this. We are proud of the immense support the government has given to the sports sector so far,” he added.
“Mixed martial arts competition has been in decline in recent years,” the NOCC president said.
“There are few to no MMA bouts held in the Kingdom each year, a situation that is quite different from other sports, such as Kun Khmer, which holds around 10 boxing events every week.”
However, Chamroen stressed that he hopes the second MMA championships, to be held next month, will help accelerate the momentum of MMA in the Kingdom.
Starting today, combat sports enthusiasts can purchase tickets online for next month's MMA tournament, with around 3,000 seats available.
Tickets are divided into categories based on seating.
VIP classes are $15 and regular classes are $5.
- tag: Mixed Martial Arts Championship
