Paul Abraham
Day 6 of the 2026 IMMAF Youth World Championships ended with more medals for Russia as the nation took lead of the gold medal tally, while Armenia’s Rafik Aleksanyan was one of the standout performers in Abu Dhabi, winning six fights on his way to featherweight division gold.
For his final three bouts, Aleksanyan submitted Georgi Rusev by Kimura before overcoming Abubakr Sattorov by unanimous decision. In the elimination tournament final, he defeated Muhammadaziz Nazarov by unanimous decision to become world champion.
Elsewhere, the super-lightweight division was one of the most competitive and elite showcases of Day 6. Israel’s Ori Zerwal reached the final after beating Estonia’s Erich Tamm by decision. Russia’s Maksim Skalozub was waiting for him after defeating Ukraine’s Oleksii Bolbochan, the title favourite, also via the scorecards. In the final, Zerwal submitted Skalozub with just one second left in the first round to clinch a sensational gold medal triumph for Israel.
Another impressive run came from Mayra Lemos. The Angolan’s round-robin tournament saw her compete against Tserenkhand Tuvshinbaatar, Tannith Snyman, Aminat Suleimanova and Svetlana Kovalenko. Lemos did not need the judges once, submitting all four of her opponents to top of the group while Russia’s Suleimanova and Kovalenko earned silver and bronze, respectively.
Russia had two champions emerge in the men’s Youth A divisions. Emil Abliakimov took gold at bantamweight, while Akraman Debziev took first place at lightweight.
The 2026 IMMAF Youth World Championships conclude on Sunday.
