Vietnam send fighters to the Asian MMA Championship

"It is my honour to be one of the representatives of Vietnam at the Asian championship," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, Vietnam's queen of MMA.

"I have to say a big thank you to the Vietnam Mixed Martial Arts Federation which give us the best condition and preparation for this event,"

"It is a big playing ground for Vietnamese martial artists. I believe that our presence at the tournament marks a turning point in the development of the national MMA community as it is the first official amateur competition that we take part in.

"Although we are still new faces in MMA, we promise to compete for the best, bringing home victories."

At the Bangkok Thonburi University, Truc will compete in the women's 54kg modern MMA. Her teammate Duong Thi Thanh Binh will fight in the women's 49kg modern MMA, Nghiem Van Y men's 65kg modern MMA and Nguyen Tien Long men's 65kg traditional MMA.

The first three are winners of the professional LION Championship, the national most prestigious MMA tournament, while the latter is in the top four of his category.

In addition to the fighters, referees Ngo Viet Phu and Tran Dai Trieu will also join the delegation. They have completed a training course and passed the exam to become Vietnam's first international referees.

They will be assigned to work at the Bangkok event.

According to Vo Quoc Thang, Vietnam MMA Federation President, he hoped that athletes would deliver good images of Vietnam's MMA to international friends. Athletes with high results will have opportunities to compete at the 19th Asian Games next month in China and the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in Thailand next year.