The leading professional MMA tournament in Vietnam – Lion Championship 2024 – has just witnessed a serious incident in the match between Danh Trung and Trung Hieu, making the martial arts world shocked.
In the match under the event on July 13 in Can Tho, boxer Nguyen Danh Trung, who was dubbed the “McGregor Vietnam”, launched a powerful kick that made opponent Dinh Trung Hieu collapsed and had to be hospitalized in a serious condition.
The situation occurred in the second half, when Danh Trung suddenly hit the right foot with his right foot to hit Trung Hieu's abdomen. The kick not only caused Hieu to collapse but also seriously damaged the liver, one of the most important and vulnerable parts in the human body. Trung Hieu lay motionless on the floor, forcing the referee to stop the match and call the medical team of emergency intervention.
Shortly thereafter, Trung Hieu was transferred straight to the hospital and had to perform surgery due to liver rupture, serious blood loss. According to doctors, this is one of the rare and especially dangerous injuries in MMA. The fighter born in 1994 had to constantly blood transfusion, including special requirements on blood type O to maintain life in an emergency period.
Information about serious injuries quickly spread on social networks, causing many fans to worry and ask questions about safety at professional MMA tournaments in Vietnam. Trung Hieu's family and the representative of his club also confirmed the current situation was very serious, but fortunately after the surgery, this boxer had a critical crisis.
On the side of Danh Trung, the young boxer born in 2001 could not hide the shock after the incident. He went to the hospital to visit Trung Hieu in the night and apologized deeply: “I absolutely do not expect this to happen. In iron cages, everyone plays hard, but I am heartbroken when Hieu has such a serious injury. Hope you quickly recover.”
The incident is raising the debate about the limits of the technique in MMA, especially the threats such as the kick that turns into the abdomen – liver, which can cause serious life consequences.
Lion Championship, despite being a professional playground, may need a comprehensive review of the process of health monitoring and martial arts protection to avoid similar heartbreaking incidents in the future.