Five Cambodian male and female mixed martial arts athletes are preparing to compete in the third Asian MMA Championship (AMMA Championship) and the 2026 Asian Games qualifier in Luzhou, China, this weekend, January 9–11.
For this mission, the Cambodian Mixed Martial Arts Federation has sent an eight-member sports delegation led by its secretary-general, Chim Dara. The five athletes include Khiev Chantarath, who won gold when Cambodia hosted the event in 2024, silver medallist Kun Vannita and bronze medallist Pheng Sopanha. The other two are new athletes, Cheng Dalin and Map Sokhuoy.
Chim Dara said athletes from nearly 20 countries would take part this year. Besides the third AMMA Championship, the event is a qualifier for the 20th Asian Games in Japan in 2026, the first edition of the quadrennial continental Games to include MMA. It also serves as a qualifier for the seventh Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Saudi Arabia in 2026.
In addition to Cambodia sending athletes to these continental events, the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) has invited two Cambodian technical officials to work at the competition in China: Chim Dara as deputy chief referee and Ms Khai Bunnary as an international technical official.
By: Chinta Titi
