Russian athlete Anastasia Tyunina defeated a Ukrainian fighter in the final of the junior MMA world championship in Tbilisi

Russian athlete Anastasia Tyunina, competing under the nickname T34, won gold at the MMA world championship in Tbilisi, defeating Ukrainian Maria Vorobey in the final. The award ceremony took place to the Russian anthem — the national team is competing at a tournament of this level with national symbols for the first time in several years, following the restoration of the Russian MMA Union's membership in IMMAF.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 7 November 2026 at 01:382 min read

The key facts

Anastasia Tyunina defeated Maria Vorobey in the final in the up to 47.6 kg category among athletes aged 18–20 — all judges voted for her victory unanimously
The award ceremony took place with the Russian flag and anthem
The IMMAF world championship is being held in Tbilisi from November 1 to 7; the adult category finals are on November 7

Gold in the junior final

Russian athlete Anastasia Tyunina defeated Ukrainian Maria Vorobey in the final of the mixed martial arts (MMA) world championship currently taking place in Tbilisi. This was reported by Life.ru citing a publication by the Russian MMA Union. The bout took place in the weight category up to 47.6 kilograms among athletes aged 18 to 20; Tyunina, competing under the nickname T34, won by unanimous decision of all judges.

Award ceremony with national symbols

After the result was announced, Tyunina stepped onto the podium with the Russian flag and sang along to the national anthem during the award ceremony. This participation holds special significance for the Russian team: the world championship, held in the capital of Georgia from November 1 to 7 under the auspices of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), is the first tournament of this level in several years where the team competes with national symbols.

Context: restoration of membership

The opportunity to compete under the flag and anthem is linked to the IMMAF decision to restore the membership of the Russian MMA Union and to allow Russian juniors to participate in international competitions with national symbols. This was announced in May by Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev. The finals among athletes aged 18 to 20 take place on November 6, while the final bouts of the adult category are scheduled for November 7 — their results were unknown at the time of publication.