A championship match turned into a moment of public humiliation when Chinese competitor Liu Xiaoni withdrew from facing Thai mixed martial arts star Kanjutha Phattaraboonsorn at the 3rd Asian MMA Championships, falsely declaring that her opponent was “not a woman.”
According to sources, the incident has sparked international controversy and prompted Thailand’s national MMA association to demand both a formal apology and sanctions against those involved.
Kanjutha, who compete under the nickname “The Rocket,” has competed in combat sports since age 12. Her career began in Muay Thai, where she claimed WBC and WPMF world titles before transitioning to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts.
Her trophy case includes gold medals from the GAMMA World MMA Championship in Brazil in 2025, The World Games in the United States in 2022, and the Jujitsu World Championship in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. Most recently, she secured Thailand’s first-ever gold medal in MMA at the 33rd SEA Games 2025, competing in the women’s 119 lb (54 kg) division.
Despite this decorated record, all achieved while competing in women’s divisions under official regulations, Kanjutha found herself facing baseless accusations on the international stage.
In an emotional statement following the championships, the athlete addressed her supporters directly. “Thank you so much. I’ve read all your messages. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been hurting about this…” she wrote, adding a broken heart emoji to convey her distress.
The pain ran deeper than the incident itself. Kanjutha revealed that the avalanche of online harassment following the refusal pushed her to a dark place of self-doubt.
“They criticised me so much that it made me confused. I even started to ask myself – ‘am I really women enough? Do I really look that much like a man?’ I even got to the point where I didn’t want to wait the federation to clarify things. I wanted to just get tested to show them that I really am a woman. I was willing to do whatever it takes, because sometimes while reading the comments, I just started to cry,” she said.
Friends and family rallied around the champion, reminding her that she had done nothing wrong and that the accusations reflected poorly on her accusers, not on her character or identity.
For Kanjutha, this wasn’t the first time her appearance had been questioned. She acknowledged that Japanese opponent Panchan Rina had previously posted similar claims before their scheduled match. However, this marked the first occasion where a competitor actually refused to step into the ring with her.
“I’ve experienced this [kind of judgement] my whole life, and it has always hurt me. But what made this time especially painful was that they didn’t even respect me enough to compete against me,” Kanjutha explained.
The athlete pointed to the nature of her sport as an explanation for her physique. “I’ve always been a strong member of the national team, even at the highest level. I’m a fighter. As someone who trains in combat sports, it’s not unusual that my body has developed to be as strong as a man’s, because I train with men,” she said, emphasizing the dedication and hard work behind her physical condition.
She added a simple principle that she believes should govern all athletic competition: “Everyone should respect each other, regardless of gender.”
The Thailand Association of Mixed Martial Arts (TAMMA) issued a forceful statement defending their athlete and condemning the incident. The organization expressed its “strongest objection” to what occurred, describing it as a serious violation of sportsmanship, mutual respect, fair play, and human dignity.
TAMMA confirmed unequivocally that Kanjutha is “a female athlete by birth, duly registered, certified, and continuously competing in the women’s division in full compliance with all competition regulations.”
The association has formally requested both an apology from the Chinese MMA Federation and sanctions from the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The controversy arrives during a period of heightened debate over gender eligibility in combat sports. Recent boxing controversies involving athletes like Imane Khelif have exposed how inconsistent policies regarding testing standards, privacy protections, and medical conditions can create an environment where suspicion replaces proper procedures.
