S’porean MMA athlete Tiffany Teo wins gold medal at 2026 Asian Games

Singaporean mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete Tiffany Teo has clinched the gold medal at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in the traditional 60kg category.

On her Asian Games debut, the 36-year-old competed in the final on Sep. 22 and defeated Uzbekistan's Khilola Sobirova.

This marks Singapore’s first medal at the Games.

First round

In traditional MMA, each round lasts five minutes,

In the first round, both fighters opened aggressively about 15 seconds in and traded punches and kicks.

Teo maintained her position in the middle of the ring, while Sobirova circled around it.

At one point, Teo was seen gesturing towards Sobirova to come to the centre of the ring, a reference to UFC fighter Max Holloway’s iconic gesture, which was noted by the commentator.

This prompted the Uzbek to feint an attack before retreating to the ring's perimeter.

In the last 30 seconds of the first round, Teo went for a takedown, and both fighters fought for control.

Second round

In the second round, Teo continued to maintain pressure on Sobirova.

The Uzbek continued to “work from the outside”.

The commentators also noted that the Uzbek smiled a lot.

The Singaporean then went for a second takedown and pushed Sobirova out of the ring.

About four minutes and 32 seconds into the second round, Sobirova took Teo down and gained control of her, leading to a submission that paused the round.

Singapore appealed against it as there were “awkward positions” from Sobirova that led to "strikes to the back of the head", which is a foul in combat sports.

The officials allowed the round to resume, and both fighters became more assertive in trading strikes.

At one point, Teo landed a clean punch on the Uzbek’s torso.

“She (Soriova) might be smiling, but that one tagged her,” a commentator remarked.

As the round neared its end, both sides’ coaches cheered for their fighters.

Both fighters were bloodied and bruised.

Overtime

Both fighters won one round each, which led to a one-minute overtime.

In overtime, Teo tackled Sobirova to the ground in the first 10 seconds and maintained control over the Uzbek throughout.

“She (Teo) is exactly where she wants to be,” the commentators said.

Victory

Teo subsequently was declared the winner.

“That is the culmination of years and years and years for Tiffany Teo, that has got to be the crowning jewel for what is essentially Southeast Asian MMA royalty,” the commentators said.

She broke into tears in front of her husband and coach, Sim Kai Xiong.

Sim carried his wife on his shoulders and ran around the ring as Teo held the Singapore flag.

Teo's victory avenged the loss to the Uzbek in the final of the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships in May 2026.

According to the Major Games Award Programme (MAP) incentive scheme payout to reward medal winners, Teo is entitled to S$200,000.