Ukraine hosted a major night of international Muaythai on Saturday, with world, intercontinental and European championship fights bringing athletes from six countries to the ring in Vinnytsia.
Organised by AFS Promotions in cooperation with the World Muaythai Council, the International Federation of Muaythai Associations, the Ukrainian Muaythai Federation and the European Muaythai Federation, the event combined elite championship competition with national and youth bouts.
The programme reflected the breadth of the sport’s international pathway, with fighters from Ukraine, Thailand, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Finland competing across youth, national, European, intercontinental and world championship contests.
The event also provided a platform for young athletes preparing for the IFMA Youth World Championships in Ancient Olympia. Youth bouts involving competitors from Ukraine and Thailand, the birthplace of Muaythai, opened the programme before the action moved towards the senior championship fights.
The first WMC World Championship bout featured Turkey’s Kemal Muhsin Şahin against Ukraine’s Yehor Skurikhin. For Skurikhin, the contest offered the opportunity to challenge for a world title in front of a home crowd, while Şahin represented one of several Turkish athletes competing on the international card.
The main event brought together Thailand’s Khaimuk Khao Phet Si Muen and Ukraine’s Dmytro Shelesko, an IFMA World Champion, in a five-round contest for the WMC World Championship. The meeting placed a leading Thai fighter against one of Ukraine’s established international competitors, with Shelesko seeking another major title to add to his record.
Two WMC Intercontinental Championship fights added further international interest to the programme. Milana Kolchenko of Kazakhstan faced Ukraine’s Karyna Holdysh in the women’s division, while Malaysia’s Nurizman Kilat met Ukraine’s Bohdan Studniev in the second intercontinental contest.
The European championship programme
Emma Davidsson of Finland against Yüsra Sürücü of Turkey; Abdussamek Uğurlu of Turkey against Ukraine’s Nikita Kuts; and Kubilay Tarhan of Turkey against Ukraine’s Amir Akchurin. The three bouts brought fighters from across Europe into direct competition for WMC titles.
The event also highlighted the cooperation between the international and national organisations involved in Muaythai. Pavel Yevtushenko, president of the Ukrainian Muaythai Federation and a member of the IFMA Executive Committee, thanked AFS Promotions, WMC, IFMA and EMF for their role in bringing the championship programme to Ukraine. Ukrainian athletes had spent months preparing for the opportunity to compete against international opponents on home soil.
With championship fights across several levels of the sport, the Vinnytsia event provided a snapshot of Muaythai’s competitive structure, from youth development to world-title competition. It also underlined Ukraine’s continuing presence on the international Muaythai scene, giving its fighters the opportunity to compete for major WMC honours in front of a home audience.
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