Yao hilltribe fighter to battle Vietnamese-Polish opponent

By Minh Khang December 1, 2023 | 11:51 pm PT

Ban Van Hoang (L) will fight Kamil Mịchael Nguyen Van for the 70 kg title at the Lion Championship 11 on Dec. 9, 2023. Photo by Lion Championship

Ban Van Hoang from Vietnam’s ethnic Yao community will fight Vietnamese-Polish Kamil Michal Nguyen Van in the highly-anticipated Lion Championship 11’s 70kg event this month.

This year’s Lion Championship 11 (LC11) will be the final event of the 2023 Vietnam professional MMA championship on Dec. 9 in Hanoi. The event includes 14 fights, including five title fights that fans are already resoundingly excited about.

Hoang, 20, will enter the title match with three knockout victories against Dang Thang Nguyen at LC4, Le Van The Anh at LC5 and Nghiem Tung Lam at LC8.

Kamil Michal Nguyen Van, 40, is considered the number one contender for the 70 kg title after Tran Quang Loc left the tournament. Kamil is looking to prove himself after twice failing to grab the championship title belt when he lost to Quang Loc by points in the 2022 final, and again at the LC6.

In the 60 kg event, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat's vacated championship belt will be decided by a fight between Brazil’s Robson De Oliveira and Vietnam’s own local hometown hero Bui Truong Sinh.

De Oliveira enters the title fight after winning by submission against Phan Huy Hoang at LC8.

Ground combat is the Brazilian’s most powerful weapon as he has a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Truong Sinh will compete confidently after defeating Le Van Tuan at LC5. Sinh also reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 Lion Championship season.

In the 65 kg event, Nghiem Van Y will defend his title against Brazil’s Felipe Ventzki Negochadle.

Y, 24, won a wushu bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games.

Negochadle has a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. To make the title fight, Negochadle defeated Nguyen Phuong Nam at LC7, Nguyen Nguyen Chuong at LC9 and Nguyen Tien Long at LC10.

In the 84 kg category, the battle for the championship belt will be fought between two Vietnamese Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) fighters: 2019 World Sanda silver medalist Pham Cong Minh and national Sanda champion Tran Quoc Toan.

Minh took three knockout victories this season against Cao Viet Anh at LC6, Hoang Tran Minh Hieu at LC9 and Ngo Hong Giang at LC10.

Toan recently accumulated two knockout victories against Luong Minh Canh (during the 2022 season) and Pham Hung Hai (at the LC6).