Dimapur: Nagaland MMA fighters managed to bag three medals for India at the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) Asian MMA Championships, the event which came to an end at Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.
While Longtsukumba Ao and Kekhrieneitso Angami won silver in the men’s welterweight and lightweight categories respectively, Arsenba Ozukum managed to clinch bronze for the country in the flyweight category.
Ao lost to Yazan Jaber of Palestine in the finals of the welterweight (77kg) ‘Striking’ category while Angami, who was up against Nurtaza Jumakhanova of Kazakhstan also had to settle for silver in the lightweight (70kg) category.
The new discipline of Striking MMA was introduced for the first time in the event this year.
While allowing for take downs, Striking MMA prohibits ground and pound, and is therefore considered the perfect gateway for athletes looking to transition into traditional mixed martial arts from purely striking styles such as boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai.
Meanwhile, Nagaland’s Ozukum, who also managed to secure a medal on Saturday, was among the 11 Indian athletes to win bronze at the event.
With four gold, seven silver and 11 bronze medals, India finished third in the overall medal table with hosts Kyrgyzstan taking the first spot.
GAMMA is the global governing body for mixed martial arts (MMA).
According to its official website, the Asian MMA Championships featured 32 weight classes, nine in each division for men and seven in each division for women.
