The inaugural Lion Championship came to a thrilling conclusion on Saturday night with seven championship belts on the line at the Corona Resort & Casino Phu Quoc.

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat with the men's 60kg Lion Championship belt.

Fan-favourite Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat had to dig-deep against last-minute replacement Nguyen Tien Long. The 31 SEA Games and 2022 World Games Muay Thai champion had been billed to face Vo Thanh Trung, who withdrew a couple of weeks ago due to a shoulder injury.

Long, who appeared in the 65kg semi-finals in Ha Noi, faced a challenging couple of weeks cutting to 60kg in time for Friday's weigh-ins, but didn't show any signs of fatigue in the octagon.

He took Duy Nhat down several times over the course of the five-round fight, but couldn't inflict any real damage. In a testament to Duy Nhat's improving grappling, he reversed a couple of mounts, though he too struggled to make much headway on the ground.

After five five-minute rounds, the judges scored the contest 48-47 46-49 49-46, crowning Nhất Lion Championship's first 60kg champion by split decision.

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Source: VNS