Singaporean MMA fighter Tiffany Teo has made history at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, winning the Republic’s first gold medal at the Games and becoming its first Asian Games MMA champion.
Teo defeated Uzbekistan’s Khilola Sobirova in the women’s traditional 60kg final on Sept. 22. The bout was tied after two rounds before Teo secured victory in overtime. The win was particularly significant after Sobirova had defeated her in the final of the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championship in May.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam congratulated Teo, highlighting the years of training and sacrifice behind her achievement. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also praised her victory, which delivered Singapore’s first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games.
The 36-year-old Teo’s road to the final included victories over opponents from Iran and India. Her semifinal against India’s Suchika Tariyal went through a complicated overtime decision and video review before a weight tiebreaker was used to determine the winner. Teo weighed 58.8kg at the relevant weigh-in, compared with Tariyal’s 59.85kg.
Teo’s gold also marked a major comeback. After competing professionally and recording an 8-2 record with ONE Championship between 2016 and 2022, she went nearly three years without a fight before returning to competition in June 2025.
MMA is making its Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, alongside sports including BMX freestyle, padel, surfing and teqball. Teo’s victory also resulted in Singapore’s national anthem being played at this edition of the Games for the first time.
After her victory, Teo said the moment represented years of work that happened away from the spotlight. She also credited the people who supported her journey, including her husband and coach, Sim Kai Xiong, who carried her around the venue after the final.
