Tiffany Teo Won Singapore's First Asian Games Gold After a Mixed Martial Arts Final Went to Overtime
The thirty-six-year-old beat Uzbekistan's Khilola Sobirova in the traditional sixty-kilogramme final, landing a takedown inside the first ten seconds of the one-minute overtime period.
Tiffany Teo won Singapore's first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 22 September 2026, beating Uzbekistan's Khilola Sobirova in the women's traditional 60kg mixed martial arts final at the Inae Sports Center in Nagoya.
The bout was level after regulation, with each fighter taking one round, so the result was decided in a one-minute overtime period. Teo secured a takedown within the first 10 seconds of overtime and maintained control until the end to earn the decision.
The win carried extra meaning for Teo, who is 36 and was making her Asian Games debut. Sobirova had beaten her at the 2026 Asian Mixed Martial Arts Championships in May, and the final gave the Singaporean the chance to reverse that result on the biggest stage of her amateur career.
Mixed martial arts is making its debut at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, with six weight categories contested between 20 and 22 September. Teo, a long-time professional in the sport, reached the final after a tiebreak in her semi-final on 21 September.
As a gold medallist, Teo is entitled to S$200,000 under Singapore's Major Games Award Programme incentive scheme. The mixed martial arts competition concluded with the finals on 22 September, and Singapore's athletes continue their campaigns in other sports as the Games run on in Aichi and Nagoya.