Ukraine's Beleniuk claims emphatic victory in MMA debut

The first Arena championship event took place in Kyiv on Saturday 11 July. The main event of the evening featured Olympic champion and Ukrainian MP Zhan Beleniuk against Israeli fighter Haim Gozali.

Source: Arena on Instagram

Details: The MMA bout ended with a first-round victory for the 35-year-old Beleniuk. He took his opponent to the ground within seconds of the opening bell and began landing a series of strikes. The 53-year-old Gozali suffered a cut as a result of Beleniuk's punches.

After two minutes of action, the Israeli fighter's corner stopped the contest, prompting the referee to award Beleniuk a technical knockout victory.

Background:

• Beleniuk announced his retirement from competitive wrestling after the 2024 Olympic Games, where he won a bronze medal. He also claimed gold at Tokyo 2020 and silver at Rio 2016.
• Recently, Beleniuk was named in Ukraine's 2026 national Greco-Roman wrestling team. Beleniuk later confirmed he had resumed his career, hinting at a possible appearance at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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