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RAMAZAN GITINOV AND SABRINA DE SOUSA BECOME THREE TIME WORLD CHAMPIONS ON FINAL DAY OF 2022 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
[17 February 2023. Belgrade] On the last day of the 2022 IMMAF World Championships, history was made at the Stark Arena, Belgrade, Serbia, as two of the greatest amateur athletes to grace the IMMAF platform, Sabrina De Sousa [Bahrain] and Ramazan Gitinov [Bahrain], said goodbye after becoming three-time amateur MMA world champions.
Both athletes' accomplishments featured in the hall of spectacular performances displayed in the 15 bouts that closed out the Senior Championship.
De Sousa is the first woman in IMMAF history to win three world titles, while Gitinov closed out his career on a winning streak of thirty.
Nina Nikolija Milosevic [Serbia] did not compete on the day due to her opponent not being cleared. However, she still got to make the walk and have her hand raised in front of the home crowd after becoming the nation’s first IMMAF world champion and the first athlete to win world gold medals for two nations.
Magdalena Czaban [Poland] added senior Atomweight world gold to her list of accolades by finishing Nora Ochoa [Mexico] to cap off an incredible year for her.
Iris Nhiti [Finland] won Finland’s first world gold medal since 2016 after outpointing Izzy McGaughey [England] in a razor-thin decision in the Lightweight division.
We were treated to haka as New Zealand extended the record run for world champions in IMMAF. Former youth olympian Kasib Murdoch [New Zealand] took in all of the energy from his teammates and brought it into the bout to win gold.
Faine Mesquita Pereira [Australia] was amongst the history makers on the day as she won Australia’s first senior gold medal at the world championships to cap off a big year for the nation in IMMAF.
Muhammad Salohiddinov [Tajikistan] won Tajikistan’s only gold medal of the senior divisions after outpointing Jorge Cobos Marin [Mexico].
Roman Kiziuk [Ukraine] was the nation's sole medalist in the senior categories, outpointing Roan Crocker [Wales] to win Light-Heavyweight gold.
Rasul Magomedov [Bahrain] was one of eight gold medalists for Bahrain while remaining undefeated in his amateur career by adding a second Heavyweight world gold title after displaying some incredible striking in his bout to get the finish.
Super-Heavyweight Rassul Khatayev [Kazakhstan] finally had his moment on top of the podium at a World Championships when he submitted Helder Manuel [Angola] with a straight foot lock in the opening round of the tournament’s final bout.
Bouts are available to watch on-demand on IMMAF’s OTT platform, IMMAF.TV, from $9.99 for the Championships Pass. A full list of medalists and results can be found on Smoothcomp.
The World Championships featured as part of IMMAF World Championships Week, an eight-day spectacle promoted by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, Serbian MMA Federation, and BRAVE Combat Federation in conjunction with BRAVE Serbia International Combat Week 2023. The week ends with the professional MMA event BRAVE CF 69 tomorrow (18), at the Stark Arena.
About IMMAF:
Founded in 2012, the purpose of IMMAF is to further the development, recognition, and regulation of the sport of MMA (mixed martial arts), enabling amateur competition through the organisation of national MMA federations around the world. With a eight-year track record of organising international amateur Championships and developing the sport globally, IMMAF's membership today includes 117 National Federations worldwide with National Olympic Committee recognition in 49 countries. IMMAF has advanced programmes for education and certification of MMA coaches, referees and other technical officials, as well as expert committees for anti-doping, medical, regulation and youth development,. IMMAF is the only legitimate international governing body for MMA, approved by WADA, working to gain sport recognition and see MMA into the Olympic Games. immaf.org
