Tiffany Teo scores Singapore’s first MMA Asian Games medal with semi-final spot

NAGOYA – The song blaring from the speakers at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center could not have been more perfect for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tiffany Teo.

At 36 and making her Asian Games debut after a rocky few years in professional sport, Teo soaked in her victory on Sept 20 to the tune of New Genesis, Japanese singer Ado’s hit theme song from the anime movie One Piece Film: Red.

A new beginning was what this bout was about, as Teo beat her Iranian opponent Arezou Salimighalehtaki by unanimous decision in the women’s traditional 60kg quarter-finals to claim Singapore’s first Asian Games medal in the sport.

With both losing semi-finalists awarded joint-bronze medals, Teo is assured of at least a medal regardless of the result of her semi-final against India’s Suchika Tariyal – who defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the quarter-finals – on Sept 21.

Cambodia’s Cheng Dalin and Uzbek Khilola Sobirova will contest the other semi-final.

Teo said after her win that she felt “nervous” before her first fight of the Games, where MMA is also making its debut. “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Teo, who is among 4,000 athletes and officials housed on the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena at the Games.

“Even before coming here, when I was in Singapore, I (read) a lot of online criticism about the Games, about the accommodation... about possible typhoons. It was a bit overwhelming being in Singapore. But that’s when working with sports psychologists came in handy, so I tried to focus on things which were within my control.

“After coming here, I was very lucky to be on the cruise, and honestly, I felt really well taken care of. The food is great, the accommodation is great, and shuttle buses were on time for me. I didn’t have to wait at the airport for like 16 or 20 hours. So I’m very thankful for that.”

After cruising to a comfortable opening victory – where all three judges scored the bout in her favour – Teo will fancy her chances in the semi-finals as she resumes her hunt for gold.

At the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships in May, where Teo qualified for the Asiad, she beat Tariyal en route to a silver medal in the traditional MMA women’s 60kg category.

The wiry fighter, who made her professional MMA debut in 2016, is on the comeback trail after a period in the wilderness. 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.

And this time, the exponent known as “No Chill” is planning to keep it chill in Aichi-Nagoya.

Teo said: “I didn’t know who I was fighting. My team knew the entire bout list, but I asked them not to tell me (because) I’m not interested. I just want to focus on one match at a time because if I know who’s in final or semi-finals, I can’t do anything with that information. It’s just going to stress me out and make me overthink more.

“Getting a gold medal is the end goal. But on the flip side, I’m trying not to let the outcome define how I’m going to perform because I feel like very often when we get too fixated on the outcome, you divert yourself from the process. I’m just focusing on things within my control and just bring my best effort, my best skill set to the tournament and I strongly believe that by doing that, I’ll get to the gold medal.”