Vietnamese mixed martial arts fighter wins first ONE Championship match

By Hoang Nguyen March 1, 2019 | 04:49 am PT

A screenshot of the ONE championship website shows a scheduled match between Vietnam's Tran Quang Loc and South Korea's Jong Heon Kim on February 28, 2019.

Tran Quang Loc beat his South Korean opponent Thursday to become the first Vietnamese to win a ONE Championship match.

In the ONE Warrior Series, a tournament held by ONE Championship for new fighters, Tran Quang Loc beat South Korean Jong Heon Kim in the very first round.

While Loc and Kim showed some caution at the beginning, the match was decided in the first round after the two fighters made contact with each other’s shin bone. Kim could not continue to fight after bleeding too much, and Loc was the winner by default.

Ecstatic, Loc ran a victory lap around the Singapore gymnasium, holding a Vietnamese flag.

A screenshot of Tran Quang Loc holds the Vietnam flag after victory.

Tran Quang Loc holds the Vietnam flag as he’s declared winner February 28, 2019.

ONE Championship is the world’s largest martial art organization whose tournaments have been broadcast in 138 countries.

Loc attracted attention in 2016 after winning the amateur MMA tournament, Warriors for Charity. A year later, he signed a deal with ONE Championship and became the first professional Vietnamese MMA fighter.

The 29 year-old fighter was supposed to have his first ONE Championship match back then, but it was called off due to Loc’s visa problems. This match was his first appearance and victory in a ONE Championship tournament.