The head of the Asian federation for mixed martial arts (MMA) gave an imprimatur of approval to the country’s successful hosting of the Manila Open—the inaugural Asian MMA championships that wound up on Wednesday night, Oct. 16, at Marriott Manila in Pasay City.

“Is it through your commitment that we’re able to deliver such a remarkable successful event,” Asian MMA Association (AMMA) president Gordon Tang told Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino during the thanksgiving dinner for the three-day event that featured the best amateur MMA fighters in Asia.

“I would like to congratulate all the athletes, coaches, referees and hardworking staff as we are excited about the ongoing development of MMA in Asia and beyond,” added Tang, also vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia who expressed gratitude to the 9 Dynasty Group for hosting the event.  

“We offer our heartfelt thanks to NMMAPP president Abraham Tolentino and secretary-general Alvin Aguilar and to the 9 Dynasty Group for the unwavering support,” added the business magnate Tang, who also heads the Cambodia sailing association. 

Tolentino heads the newly-formed Nasyonal MMA Pederasyon ng Pilipinas (NMMAPP), which carries the moniker Pilipinas MMA, the governing body for amateur MMA sport in the country.

“We are very thankful to our Asian counterparts, especially Mr. Gordon Tang, for supporting the new amateur MMA sport and for bringing the event here in Manila,” Tolentino said. “There are some fine-tuning to do on rules on safety but sooner than soon, guarantees will be in place.”

“It’s a first of many and we’re excited for the next one,” Aguilar said. “The AMMA, Mr. Gordon Tang and the other countries are extremely happy on our hosting.”

Tolentino and Aguilar thanked  Derries Wong and his 9 Dynasty Group for supporting the Manila Open.

Tajikistan emerged as the inaugural overall champion of the Asian championships with four gold and two silver medals, followed by Kazakhstan with a 3-2-1 gold-silver-bronze harvest and China with 2-1-0.

A big field of 88 MMA athletes from 13 counties competed in the Manila Open.

Amateur MMA is included in the program of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games which Saudi Arabia is hosting next year.