Cambodian fighter Koramak ChanReach, officially registered under the name Pheng Sopanha, became the first Cambodian to win a championship MMA belt in the final round of the GMA – Gods of Martial Arts tournament. His teammates, Rin Saroth and Long La, were both defeated in their respective matches.
Koramak, who won the 57kg title in Vietnam on August 2, described this belt as the most important achievement of his career. He publicly dedicated the belt to the Cambodian soldiers who recently sacrificed their lives defending Cambodia’s territorial integrity against Thai incursions along the border.
“I’m truly happy to have won this belt. It’s my first major MMA title, and I’d like to dedicate it to the people of Cambodia — especially the heroic soldiers who gave their lives protecting our land on the battlefield,” said the 17-year-old.
His statement was translated into English by his coach, Hun Chanreach, so that the international audience at the GMA event could understand. It served as a powerful message to highlight the reality of the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
Koramak described how he fought with great determination to fulfill his promise to the Cambodian people, especially the frontline troops, to show the world that Cambodia does not want war.
“Before I came to fight, I told my parents, siblings and our frontline soldiers — especially those who gave their lives — that I came here to restore Cambodia’s honour and let the world know that we don’t want war. I hoped to win this belt and dedicate it to our heroic soldiers and the displaced people along the border,” he said.
In the championship match, he defeated Malaysian fighter Tan Bo Meng in the second round via ground-and-pound after gaining top control and unleashing powerful left-right strikes and elbows, forcing the referee to stop the fight and award him the championship belt.
His win stunned spectators with his impressive performance. Though only 17 years old, he has now accumulated six championship belts, along with many other medals and trophies.
Meanwhile, his teammates from Cambodian Top Team (CTT) — Rin Saroth and Long La — both lost their final bouts. Saroth was defeated on points by Thai fighter Chayut Rojanakat, while La was forced to submit in the first round by Malaysian Terenz Tan.
Nevertheless, coach Chanreach revealed that he had negotiated with GMA officials to include Khmer script on the championship belts — specifically the phrase “Supreme Khmer Mixed Martial Arts”. This means that no matter which country’s fighter wins the GMA belt, Cambodia will still benefit from international promotion of Khmer martial arts.
“For the GMA belt, we’ve included the Khmer phrase ‘អធិរាជ្យគុនចម្រុះកម្ពុជា’ (‘Supreme Khmer Mixed Martial Arts’). This is one way to help promote Khmer martial arts, Cambodia and our athletes to the world. Since this event has many participating countries, whoever wins the belt will see the Khmer script and be reminded of our proud martial heritage,” he explained.
