In the main event of Karate Combat, Rafael Aghayev bested Zsolt Habda.
The event took place from New York, New York this past Saturday night.
It was Aghayev’s first appearance for Karate Combat since winning a silver medal for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He carried his world-beating form into The Pit, controlling the fight by mixing tactical mastery and raw physicality where required.
The game Habda – who entered The Pit with some heavy taping around his knees and lower leg – gave his all against Aghayev but it was always going to be an uphill struggle: Aghayev is one of the most decorated competitors in karate history and is considered a legend by his peers, including Habda himself.
Aghayev will now head to Universal Studios on June 26 to face Davy Dona.
In the chief support bout, Bruno Assis – coming off an unsuccessful lightweight title shot in his last outing – was able to outfox and out-land dynamic fan-favorite Vitalie Certain to win a unanimous decision.
Certan, who was edging into title contention himself and had considerable momentum built up, now finds his win streak ended and has to rebuild himself into a contender position.
Assis will join Aghayev on the June 25 card in Florida, having accepted a fight with former Bellator and GLORY champion Gabriel Varga, who will make his Karate Combat debut on that card.
Dagestan’s Myrza-Bek Tebuev returned to action in fine style with a win over Jesus Lopez in the bantamweight division.
Brazil’s Gabriel Stankunas had an auspicious start to his Karate Combat career, taking a decision over the USA’s Damian Villa in the opening bout of the card. The heated battle earned both fighters a long-term contract offer from Karate Combat.
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