New additions diversify Beijing Combat

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02:18

The third edition of Beijing Combat was aimed at expanding not only the event's audience, but also the number of genres included, with a ladies bout on the card for the first time, as well as the match between two teenagers.

The inaugural women's clash at Beijing Combat drew some of the most intense responses from the spectators at the Changping Gymnasium, as Chen Meng took on Poland's Vladlena Yavorska in a lightweight mixed martial arts showdown. And for the Chinese crowd favorite, her victory by submission was a tale of both pain and passion.

The groundbreaking ladies bout was followed by another unprecedented tussle, as Zhang Peimian faced his fellow teenager, Ukrainian Dmytro Puhach, in a flyweight kickboxing battle. The youngster from China's win via TKO earned a raucous ovation from the audience, after both of these erstwhile high schoolers, showed plenty of potential.

So as participants from under-represented categories strive to make their marks in the ring, this further diversification can only help expand the burgeoning reach that international fighting genres hold with the fast-growing Chinese market.

With Beijing Combat bringing together competitors from different disciplines, genders, and age groups, the organizers and fans have seen the enthusiastic reaction for this event as a harbinger for even more exciting times for the fighting arts in China.

And perhaps the main benchmark in the continued development of kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and boxing in the host country -- the results on the canvas -- is most important as Chinese contenders came out on top in five of the seven matches, two more than at the second Beijing Combat.