Kickboxing: Giorgio Petrosyan Scores First-Round Knockout at PetrosyanMania ‘Gold Edition’

One of the most famous fighting kermesse in Italy went down Saturday at the Candy Arena in Monza as PetrosyanMania held its “Gold Edition.”

The main event featured Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan, one of the best kickboxers in the world, taking on Atsushi Tamefusa. The Armenian champion easily solved the Japanese enigma via knockout in the first round. Now, Petrosyan can focus exclusively on the One Championship Super Series Grand Prix, in which he will exchange blows with some of the finest muay Thai strikers in the world.

In the main MMA attraction, undefeated Iuri Lapicus (12-0) smashed Ibrahima Sarr in the opening stanza. Lapicus put pressure on his opponent immediately, but he slipped while trying a head kick and took more risks than necessary. The Team Petrosyan product, though, was smart enough to bounce back and secure a takedown. On the floor, Lapicus smelled blood and finished his opponent with punches from the mount.

Elsewhere, local Francesco Moricca (6-4) took on Francesco Labellarte. Moricca displayed his overall superiority in striking and grappling, despite likely dropping the first round. Eventually, judges awarded him a unanimous decision, with the referee taking a point from his opponent for losing his month-guard. In the first MMA match of the evening, Giuliano Badessa (2-0) managed to edge Lorenzo Piscitelli via unanimous decision.