Jean Claude Saclag Took Silver for the Philippines After Losing the Asian Games Final to Otabek Rajabov
Uzbekistan's unbeaten twenty-three-year-old took Saclag down in every round to win the men's traditional sixty-five-kilogramme final by unanimous decision in Nagoya.
Jean Claude Saclag of the Philippines won silver in the men's traditional 65kg mixed martial arts event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 22 September 2026, losing the final to Uzbekistan's Otabek Rajabov at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.
Rajabov won by unanimous decision. The 23-year-old, who holds a perfect 6-0 professional record, controlled the bout on the mat and took Saclag down in every round.
Saclag had reached the final by beating Saudi Arabia's Saud Fawaz Almolhem in the quarter-finals and Japan's Daisuke Murayama in the semi-finals. The silver is his second Asian Games medal of that colour, following a runner-up finish in wushu at the 2014 Games in Incheon.
The Philippine mixed martial arts squad left Nagoya with two medals, as Carlos Alvarez also won bronze in the competition. Saclag had gone into the final hoping to deliver the country's first gold in the sport.
Mixed martial arts made its Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, with four men's and two women's weight categories contested between 20 and 22 September. The sport's finals closed the programme on 22 September, and the Philippine delegation now turns its attention to its remaining events at the Games.