King of Kings returned to Riga this past Saturday for the Mega Series for the first Latvian event of 2023. The main feature was a four-man bantamweight WGP tournament in which Latvian up-and-comer and KOK debutant Arsenijs Nikolajevs defeated Ismail Al Kadhi in the tournament final after an extra round to claim the tournament championship. KOK veteran Rodrigo “Miniero” also picked up a victory by knocking out Latvia’s Einars Goldberg. Full results for the evening can be found below.
Preliminary fight (not televised)
65 kg (Chess-Boxing): Maxim Golubovskis (LV) def. Vaicheslav Borshevskis (LV) by checkmate, rd 5
Hero’s Series
-60 kg: Deividas Zamba (LT) def. Aleksandr Zeleznekov (LV) by decision
-61 kg (boxing): Ricards Zarins (LV) def. Marius Marciunas (LT) by TKO, rd 2
-61 kg (MMA): Ivan Kozhechenkov (LV) def. Mantas Rimsa (LT) by UD
-85 kg: Ignas Pauliukevicius (LT) def. Raimonds Martinovskis (LV) by KO, rd 1
KOK Mega Series in Riga 2023
KOK Bantamweight WGP Tournament Semi-Final Fights, -60 kg, 3×3 min
Arsenijs Nikolajevs (LV) def. Beka Gabisonia (GEO) by UD
Ismail Al. Kadhi (CYP) def. Maks Kowalewski (PL) by TKO, rd 1
-77 kg: Vjaceslavs Teless (LV) def. Giorgi Nakhutsrishvili (GEO) by KO, rd 2
-91 kg (boxing): Vytautas Pivnickas (LT) def. Ricards Ozols (LV) by SD
-91 kg: Modestas Juodpusis (LT) def. Ilja Ivanovs (LV) by TKO, rd 1
-81 kg: Rodrigo Mineiro (BRA) def. Einars Goldbergs (LV) by KO, rd 2
KOK Bantamweight WGP Tournament Final
Arsenjis Nikkolajevs (LV) def. Ismail Al Kadhi (CYP) by SD (ex rd)
+95 kg: Kristaps Zutis (LV) def. Dwight Harkisoon (NL) by MD