Five Georgian fighters secure spots in IMMAF World Championship finals in Tbilisi #1TVSPORT

Five Georgian fighters have stormed into the finals of the IMMAF World Championship, which is currently underway at the Olympic Palace in Tbilisi. Super-heavyweight Levan Lagvilava (+97kg) led the charge in the senior division to reach the gold-medal match, with youth fighters Givi Beridze, Ioane Bikoshvili, Nika Beridze, and Saba Sulamanidze all overcoming their semi-final opponents.

Lagvilava launched his campaign in the round of 16, defeating Gabriel El Khoury of Lebanon before securing a submission victory over last year’s world champion, Oleksandr Khodakov of Ukraine, in the quarter-finals. He then advanced to the final via a semi-final walkover.

In the junior championship, Ioane Bikoshvili delivered a string of stoppage wins against Michal Vavrusek of the Czech Republic, Canjo Rajkovic of Montenegro, and Karolis Djugevic of Lithuania, before progressing past the semi-finals when his scheduled opponent withdrew through injury.

In a notable family double, the Beridze brothers secured places in two separate weight classes. Givi Beridze (70.3kg) ground out impressive wins over Ian Gael Gomez Garcia of Spain, Oleh Plazovskyi of Ukraine, Dawid Marzec of Poland, and Bambo Sima of France. Meanwhile, Nika Beridze (88.4kg) advanced past Russia’s Said Gasanov and Semin Aninian, as well as Denys Kozora of Ukraine.

Saba Sulamanidze (97kg), who entered the tournament later than his compatriots, booked his spot in the final by defeating Samandarbek Ergashev of Uzbekistan and David Zargarian of Austria.

Georgia came close to expanding its finalist tally, but Tato Absandze (74.6kg), Ana Abramishvili (61.2kg), and Mamana Mukeria (70.3kg) fell at the semi-final stage, taking home bronze medals.

The finals kick off tomorrow and Saturday at the Olympic Palace from 14:00 local time.