Tiffany Teo wins Singapore’s first gold medal at Asian Games with victory in MMA final

Tiffany Teo being announced the winner during the mixed martial arts women’s traditional (60kg) final against Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan on Sept 22.

Published Sep 22, 2026, 03:33 PM

Updated Sep 22, 2026, 10:14 PM

NAGOYA – Singaporean mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tiffany Teo won the nation’s first gold medal of the Asian Games, after clinching a victory in the women’s traditional 60kg final on Sept 22.

At the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre, Teo defeated Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan to round off a sensational Asian Games debut campaign .

It was also sweet revenge for the Singaporean fighter, who finally managed to overcome an opponent who beat her in May in the final of the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships.

After the victory, Teo broke down in tears before her husband and coach, Sim Kai Xiong, hoisted her onto his shoulders.

Her win came in overtime after both athletes were judged to have won one round each.

Tiffany Teo and her coach and husband Sim Kai Xiong after winning in the mixed martial arts women’s traditional (60kg) final of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan on Sept 22. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Tiffany Teo and her coach and husband Sim Kai Xiong after winning in the mixed martial arts women’s traditional (60kg) final of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan on Sept 22.

Shortly after the bout, Teo, who had blood marks on her uniform, told reporters she “was really overwhelmed”.

She said: “So I’ve never cried after a fight. So representing Singapore at the Asian Games is just a lot of added pressure and I had high expectations of myself. So when the moment all kind of came together, it felt really overwhelming. Even though I was tearing, it was tears of joy.”

Teo defeated Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan to round off a sensational Asian Games debut campaign. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Teo defeated Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan to round off a sensational Asian Games debut campaign.

The MMA athlete hopes her win will shine more light on the sport back home.

She added: “A big part of why I decided to compete in Asian Games is to help grow the sport. I’m not getting any younger. I’m probably left with a couple more competitive years, and I’ve been doing this for more than a decade, and I do see myself as a pioneer for the sport of MMA, and it’s quite sad to see that it’s not gaining popularity in recent years.

“And I hope that by competing in this and earning this gold medal for Singapore, people will start to see this as a pathway for MMA as a national sport. Because if you look at other combat sports like boxing, wrestling, judo and so many combat sports, there’s a national pathway to be part of the national team, and this gives them a goal to work towards. So I hope that by showing them there’s this pathway that you can pursue, it will encourage people to take up the sport.”

On Sept 20, the 36-year-old Teo started her journey to gold by beating Iranian opponent Arezou Salimighalehtaki by unanimous decision in the quarter-finals. By doing so, she claimed Singapore’s first Asiad medal in the sport, which was making its continental bow.

In the quadrennial event, MMA is competed on a mat instead of a cage with modified rules. Athletes compete in martial arts uniforms with shin guards for protection, and dropping knees on downed opponents is prohibited.

With both losing semi-finalists awarded joint-bronze, Teo was assured of at least a medal regardless of the result of her semi-final.

Victory in the semi-final against India’s Suchika Tariyal on Sept 21 was far from straightforward.

The duo drew level after the first two rounds and in the overtime round, Teo took the win after the judges ruled in Singaporean’s favour, and the match appeared done and dusted. But Suchika and her team proceeded to challenge the decision.

As per procedure, the overtime round was video reviewed by a different set of referees, who overturned Teo’s earlier win and awarded a draw. As a result, a weight tiebreaker was then applied under the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA)’s rules.

Teo defeated Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan, who beat her in May in the final of the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Teo defeated Khilola Sobirova of Uzbekistan, who beat her in May in the final of the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships.

But Teo was eventually named the winner because she was slightly lighter at the morning weigh-in – she had tipped the scales at 58.8kg, while her opponent was 59.85kg.

The wiry fighter, who made her professional MMA debut in 2016, has endured a period in the wilderness before this historic victory in Nagoya. From 2016 to 2022, she posted an 8-2 record with One Championship but did not fight for nearly three years after. She returned to the octagon only in June 2025 with Chinese promotion JCK MMA.

Teo’s golden triumph in Aichi-Nagoya kicks off the third day of action at the Asian Games. The 304-strong Singapore contingent’s current medal tally includes Gan Ching Hwee’s historic 1,500m freestyle silver medal and a bronze from wushu exponent Zeanne Law in the women’s taijiquan-taijijian.

At the previous edition of the Games in Hangzhou in 2023, the Republic won 16 medals – three golds, six silvers and seven bronzes.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.

9月22日，在日本爱知-名古屋2026年亚运会上，蒂芙尼·特奥在女子传统（60公斤级）决赛中战胜乌兹别克斯坦选手希洛拉·索比罗娃，被宣布为获胜者。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 22 日下午 3:33

更新于2026年9月22日晚上10:14

名古屋——新加坡综合格斗（MMA）选手蒂芙尼·张（Tiffany Teo）在9月22日举行的女子传统60公斤级决赛中获胜，为新加坡赢得了亚运会首枚金牌。

在名古屋市稻江体育中心，张智雄击败乌兹别克斯坦选手希洛拉·索比罗娃，为她精彩的亚运会首秀画上了圆满的句号。

对于这位新加坡选手来说，这也是一场甜蜜的复仇。她终于战胜了在 2026 年亚洲综合格斗锦标赛决赛中击败她的对手。

胜利之后，张女士激动得泪流满面，她的丈夫兼教练沈凯雄将她扛到了肩上。

在双方各胜一轮后，比赛进入加时赛，最终她赢得了比赛。

9月22日，在日本爱知-名古屋2026年亚运会女子传统混合武术（60公斤级）决赛中，蒂芙尼·张（Tiffany Teo）夺冠后，与她的教练兼丈夫沈凯雄（Sim Kai Xiong）合影。（海峡时报摄影：KEVIN LIM）

9月22日，在日本爱知-名古屋2026年亚运会女子传统混合武术（60公斤级）决赛中获胜后，Tiffany Teo和她的教练兼丈夫Sim Kai Xiong合影。

比赛结束后不久，制服上沾有血迹的特奥告诉记者，她“真的非常激动”。

她说：“我以前从没在比赛后哭过。所以代表新加坡参加亚运会对我来说压力更大，我对自己的期望也很高。当那一刻到来时，我感觉真的非常激动。虽然我当时泪流满面，但那是喜悦的泪水。”

张玉玲击败乌兹别克斯坦选手希洛拉·索比罗娃，为她精彩的亚运会首秀画上了圆满的句号。（海峡时报摄影：凯文·林）

Teo击败乌兹别克斯坦选手Khilola Sobirova，为她精彩的亚运会首秀画上了圆满的句号。

这位综合格斗运动员希望她的胜利能让这项运动在家乡获得更多关注。

她补充道：“我决定参加亚运会的一个重要原因就是为了帮助这项运动发展壮大。我年纪不小了，可能还能再打几年比赛，而且我已经从事这项运动十多年了，我确实认为自己是综合格斗这项运动的先驱者，但令人遗憾的是，近年来这项运动并没有得到应有的普及。”

“我希望通过参加这次比赛并为新加坡赢得这枚金牌，人们能够开始将综合格斗视为新加坡国家体育项目的一条发展路径。因为如果你看看其他格斗运动，比如拳击、摔跤、柔道等等，你会发现它们都有国家级的选拔途径，可以加入国家队，这能给他们一个努力的目标。所以我希望通过向他们展示这条可以追求的道路，能够鼓励更多人参与到这项运动中来。”

9月20日，36岁的张玉玲在四分之一决赛中以一致判定击败伊朗选手阿雷祖·萨利米加莱赫塔基，开启了她的金牌征程。凭借这场胜利，她为新加坡赢得了该项目在亚运会上的首枚奖牌，而该项目也是首次亮相亚运会。

这项四年一度的赛事中，MMA比赛在垫子上进行，而非笼子里，规则也做了修改。运动员身穿武术服，佩戴护胫以保护身体，并且禁止用膝盖攻击倒地的对手。

由于两名半决赛失利的选手并列获得铜牌，无论特奥的半决赛结果如何，她至少都能获得一枚奖牌。

9月21日，在半决赛中战胜印度选手苏奇卡·塔里亚尔的过程远非一帆风顺。

前两轮比赛双方战成平手，加时赛中，裁判判定新加坡选手张胜出，比赛似乎已经尘埃落定。但苏奇卡和她的团队随后对判决提出质疑。

按照程序，加时赛的录像由另一组裁判进行审查，他们推翻了此前Teo的胜利判罚，改判平局。因此，根据亚洲综合格斗协会（AMMA）的规则，最终采用体重比决胜方式决出胜负。

张玉玲击败了乌兹别克斯坦选手希洛拉·索比罗娃，后者曾在五月份的2026年亚洲综合格斗锦标赛决赛中战胜过她。照片由《海峡时报》凯文·林拍摄。

Teo击败了乌兹别克斯坦选手Khilola Sobirova，后者曾在5月份的2026年亚洲综合格斗锦标赛决赛中击败过她。

但最终，特奥被宣布为获胜者，因为她在早上的称重中体重略轻——她的体重为 58.8 公斤，而她的对手的体重为 59.85 公斤。

这位身材精瘦的选手于2016年首次亮相职业MMA赛场，在名古屋取得这场历史性胜利之前，她经历了一段沉寂期。从2016年到2022年，她在ONE冠军赛取得了8胜2负的战绩，但之后近三年没有参加比赛。直到2025年6月，她才重返八角笼，加盟中国JCK MMA赛事。

张志贤在爱知-名古屋亚运会上的金牌胜利拉开了亚运会第三天的序幕。新加坡代表团共有304名运动员，目前已斩获多枚奖牌，其中包括颜清辉历史性的1500米自由泳银牌，以及武术选手罗珊妮在女子太极拳比赛中获得的铜牌。

在2023年杭州举行的上一届奥运会上，中华民国共获得16枚奖牌——3枚金牌、6枚银牌和7枚铜牌。

Deepanraj Ganesan 是《海峡时报》的体育记者，主要报道足球、田径、格斗运动和政策相关新闻。