The first day of the 2022 Asian Championships is in the books. The action got underway at 11:30 am local time, with the round of 16 taking place for the senior and junior divisions.
Uzbekistan’s Odil Sayfiddinov opened up the competition in style by submitting Shohjahon Karimov in the first round.
Tajikistan’s Asomuddin Saidamirzoda got the nation’s first victory of the competition after outpointing Uzbekistan’s Jamshid Tilyaev. The bout initially was scored a split draw, and a fourth round was required to determine a winner.
Kazakhstan’s Zhaxybek Aimakhanov scored a split decision win over Bahrain’s Magomed Isaiev following a close match-up. Kazakhstan also had two finishes through Abay Zhalal and Samgat Shabdan. Zhalal submitted his opponent with a guillotine choke, while Shabdan had the only TKO/KO victory of the day.
Pakistan had one athlete in action on Day 1 as Arslan Abbasi got the nation’s first win of the tournament after a dominant display where he showed off his grappling ability.
It was a mixed day of results for Iran, but the nation recorded its first IMMAF win when Mohammad Javad Kayedgap submitted India’s Mayur Prassad in the second round.
India’s Ramston Rodriques opened his account for the competition after showcasing his ability over three rounds to outpoint Lebanon’s Ghady Assaf. The win lines up a bout with Jordan’s Hazem Kayyali tomorrow, and the winner of that bout will secure a podium position.
Pound-for-pound number one Ramazan Gitinov will be in action as he looks to kickstart his run at gold after winning silver back at the 2019 Asian Championships. The Bahrain representative has not lost since 2017, and his current win streak spans 23 bouts. He will face Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Yarkov tomorrow in a welterweight match-up.
Day 2 will also see Tajikistan’s Qosim Sardorov in his first IMMAF bout since winning silver at the 2021 World Championships, while six-time IMMAF medalist Yerulan Kabdulov is in action for Kazakhstan.
Turkmenistan, South Korea and Mongolia will all have athletes appearing tomorrow. Turkmenistan’s Yusup Dovranov will become the first athlete to represent the nation at senior level, while South Korea is returning for the first time since 2017.
A full list of today’s results can be found here.
Tomorrow sees the quarter-finals take place, with the bouts starting at 11 am. The full schedule for Day 2 of the 2022 Asian Championships can be found here. Live brackets can be found on Smoothcomp.
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation will be live streaming its 2022 Asian Championships live and on-demand at immaf.tv, from 27 – 30 October, from 11:00 hrs (UTC+5). All matches from across 4 full days of elite amateur MMA action will be available worldwide from $9.99 for the Championships Pass.
