#AmateurMMA

Kingi Stops Kazakhstan Juggernaut in Amateur MMA

Thursday, June 11, 2026 - 11:28 By United World Wrestling Press

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DA NANG, Vietnam (June 9) -- Billy KINGI (NZL) was the only fighter that was able to stop the Kazakhstan juggernaut at the Amateur MMA Asian Championships in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The Asian Championships was held at the U15 and U17 level in Pankration and at the U20 and Senior level in Amateur MMA from June 7 to 9 in Da Nang.

In Men's Amateur MMA, Kazakhstan won eight out of nine gold medals while Kingi captured the remaining one via a technical knockout against Yerbol BAINAZAROV (KAZ) at 100kg.

After the first three-minute round, Kingi was down as all three judges scored the round in Bainazarov's favor. However, Kingi went for two double-leg takedowns in the second round. He secured the knockout when Bainazarov stopped defending as Kingi continued to land his punches.

That was the only results that did no go Kazakhstan's way for the gold medal in an otherwise solid campaign in Da Nang.

Mansur SEPTEGEN (KAZ) got the gold rush going by winning the 57kg final against Yedenkachew TELAHUNE (NZL). Septegen was awarded the first round unanimously by all three judges and kept the momentum in the second round as well, and submitted Telahune barely seconds into the round.

Oleg PEKHOTIN (KAZ) was the next champion for Kazakhstan after he defeated Denzel ALIPIO (PHI) in the 62kg final. Pekhotin used a variation of triangle choke to get the submission from Alipio in under a minute of the final.

At 66kg, Dinmukhammed TURGANBEKOV (KAZ) won his qualification and semifinals via knockout and technical knockout respectively. In the final against Mukhammadamin SHAMOLOV (TJK), Turganbekov got the first round via split decision as two judges gave the round to him and one to Shamolov.

Thirty seconds into the second period, Shamolov used a knee kick to the face of Turganbekov which left he Kazakhstan wrestler bleeding the ending the match in favor of Turganbekov as default.

The fourth straight gold medal was won by Marat ASHIMTAYEV (KAZ) at 71kg final, dashing the hopes of local favorite Bach TRAN QUAN (VIE). Ashimtayev dominated the first round and then slammed Tran Quan at the start of the second before the Vietnamese fighter submitted.

Aslan GELOGAYEV (KAZ) and Mekhrdod GUREZZODA (TJK) were off to an electric start in the 77kg final as both traded punches and takedowns. However, Gelogayev managed to return on top and Gurezzoda had no defense to the Kazakhstan fighter's barrage of punches. The technical knockout was called 90 seconds into the final.

At 84kg, Eljan GASSANOV (KAZ) and Aditya BUKKI (IND) were the only fighters entered and it took the former just one minute to confirm his technical knockout over the Indian. After a takedown, he locked Bukki's one arm and landed solid punches to the face to win the gold medal.

The 93kg final was even quick as Abylay SHAKIRBEKOV (KAZ) scored a stunning head knockout over Sudhir PUNDEKAR (IND). Shakirbekov was 20 seconds into the final when he hit one straight to Pundekar's face who fell instantly, confirming Shakirbekov's win.

While he did not get a head knockout, Agaly KHASSANOV (KAZ) finished the 130kg final against Atul GHULE (IND) in 18 seconds with a swinging kick to win via technical knockout and claim Kazakhstan's eighth gold medal

In the women's AMMA,  Lily HOUBEN (NZL) submitted Aruzhan BERKINBAYEVA (KAZ) in the 90kg final to claim the gold medal. Houben got Berkinbayeva in a triangle hold early in the bout but switched to arm bar which Berkinbayeva defended for almost two minutes but finally tapped out with nine seconds remaining in the first round.

The result was similar to Houben's victory over Berkinbayeva in the 90kg final earlier in U20 Amateur MMA.

At 65kg, Zhansaya YERMAGAMBETOVA (KAZ) went on the aggressive right off the whistle in the final against compatriot Kamila FAZYLOVA (KAZ) and ultimately won via a technical knockout to clinch the gold medal.

RESULTS

Men's AMMA

57kg
GOLD: Mansur SEPTEGEN (KAZ)
SILVER: Yedenkachew TELAHUNE (NZL)
BRONZE: Huynh Tai LE (VIE)
BRONZE: Nam NGUYEN NHAT (VIE)

62kg
GOLD: Oleg PEKHOTIN (KAZ)
SILVER: Denzel ALIPIO (PHI)
BRONZE: Aayush DIPU (IND)
BRONZE: Thai HA NGOC (VIE)

66kg
GOLD: Dinmukhammed TURGANBEKOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Mukhammadamin SHAMOLOV (TJK)
BRONZE: Khoa HUYNH DANG (VIE)
BRONZE: Rudransh AZAD (IND)

71kg
GOLD: Marat ASHIMTAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Bach TRAN QUAN (VIE)
BRONZE: James INGE (HKG)

77kg
GOLD: Aslan GELOGAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Mekhrdod GUREZZODA (TJK)
BRONZE: Shebin KOZHIKKODAN (IND)

84kg
GOLD: Eljan GASSANOV (KAZ) df. Aditya BUKKI (IND), via technical knockout

93kg
GOLD: Abylay SHAKIRBEKOV (KAZ) df. Sudhir PUNDEKAR (IND), via head knockout

100kg
GOLD: Billy KINGI (NZL)
SILVER: Yerbol BAINAZAROV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Alibek NURMUKHAMETOV (KAZ)

130kg
GOLD: Agaly KHASSANOV (KAZ) df. Atul GHULE (IND), via technical knockout

Women's AMMA

65kg
GOLD: Zhansaya YERMAGAMBETOVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Kamila FAZYLOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Sheetal KHARATMAL (IND)

90kg
GOLD: Lily HOUBEN (NZL) df. Aruzhan BERKINBAYEVA (KAZ), via submission

 

U20 Men's AMMA

57kg
GOLD: Duc Manh LA (VIE)
SILVER: Bankerlang MARTHONG (IND)
BRONZE: Quang PHAN (VIE)

62kg
GOLD: Muhammadkabir NAZARZODA (TJK)
SILVER: Jan TABUNOT (PHI)
BRONZE: Vu Quoc Trieu MAI (VIE)
BRONZE:  Ngoc Hop UNG (VIE)

71kg
GOLD:  Alisher AKBAKHYTOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Le Thai Bao NGUYEN (VIE)
BRONZE: Amir SERIK (KAZ)

77kg
GOLD: Alisher SABIT (KAZ) df. Daniyar FAIZRAKHMANOV (KAZ), via points

84kg
GOLD: Nurgissa ANARBEK (KAZ) df. Gurvansh ARORA (IND), via technical knockout

U20 Women's AMMA

90kg
GOLD: Lily HOUBEN (NZL) df. Aruzhan BERKINBAYEVA (KAZ), via submission

Esmaeili survives Jafarov shock to win ISG 2025 gold

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 18:51 By Vinay Siwach

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 18) -- He needed some strong defense to win the world title and on Tuesday, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) needed some clutch offense to beat Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) for the second time in two one month.

Esmaeili and Jafarov clashed in the final of the 67kg weight class at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyad, Saudi Arabi and it seemed that the latter was on his way to upset the Olympic champion and avenge his loss from the World Championships final.

Down 3-3 on criteria, all seemed to be over for Esmaeili as the clock ticked down. In the last 10 seconds, Esmaeili worked on a double-arm lock and then managed to throw Jafarov in danger from standing for four points which changed the result and gave him the win.

Azerbaijan challenged the call but there was no change in the result and Esmaeili defeated Jafarov 8-3, to capture yet another gold medal this year after Asian and World Championships.

Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) throws Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) during their 67kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In Zagreb, Esmaeili was put in par terre for third passivity call. Jafarov, down 2-1, needed a point to turn the result but he failed to score any points as Esmaeili defended the par terre position and captured his first world title.

Jafarov blamed a lapse in concentration in the final seconds that costed him the gold medal in Riyadh.

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) won his fourth gold medal this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's other world champion from Zagreb, Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) made it seem a little easier as he defeated former world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0, winning his third gold in one month.

Farokhi, who won gold at 82kg at the World Championships, moved to 87kg for U23 World Championships and won gold without giving up a point in Novi Sad. Just two weeks later, he now gold at 87kg on Tuesday.

Against Yevloyev in the final, Farokhi was awarded both par terre position which gave him a 2-0 lead. From the second par terre, he managed to score a point as he threw Yevloyev for a stepout. The Kazakhstan wrestler was docked two points for defensive foul making it 5-0.

Kazakhstan challenged the foul call but Yevloyev had clearly blocked Farokhi using his elbow on the Iranian's face. The lost challenged made it 6-0 for Farokhi, giving him the win.

Farokhi had a tough match in semifinals against world bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) and needed a takedown in the final minute to win 7-6, first time he has shown some difficulty winning bouts.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) won the 77kg gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Two other gold medals were awarded on Tuesday with former U23 world champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) winning the 60kg one and two-time Olympic medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) marking his comeback with gold medal at 77kg.

Makhmudov, who has not wrestled in a full tournament since winning bronze in Paris, was in some form as he made no mistake in his run to the gold medal. In the final, he wrestled Amir ABDI (IRI) and performed a reverse lift throw for five points before securing the fall in the second period.

Abdi got the par terre position in the first period but Makhmudov defended the position, giving only a 1-0 lead to the Iranian. When he got the par terre position, he jumped to the front before performing the lift and holding Abdi on the mat for fall.

Ganiev, who defeated European champion Nihad MAMMADLI (AZE) in the quarterfinal, defeated Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) in the semifinal and humbled Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0, in the final.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0

BRONZE: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), 3-2
BRONZE: Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ) df. Fergat ABDELKRIM (ALG), 5-1

67kg
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 8-3

BRONZE: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), 5-2
BRONZE: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY), via fall (9-0)

77kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Amir ABDI (IRI), via fall (6-1)

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT) df. Sami SLAMA (TUN), via fall (8-1)

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0

BRONZE: Sid BACHIR (ALG) df. Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK), 9-0
BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 5-1