Historic Victory at Youth World Championship
16-year-old Rachim Isaev from Vienna made Austrian MMA history at the recent IMMAF Youth World Championship. Competing in the Super Lightweight category, Isaev won gold – the first medal of its kind for Austria.
About IMMAF and MMA
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) is recognized as the leading global amateur MMA organization. Founded in 2012, it promotes the sport at the amateur level worldwide, regulates competitions, and sets standards. MMA combines wrestling and striking techniques, drawing from Muay Thai, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and boxing. The sport gained international recognition largely through the UFC. With an estimated 450 million fans, MMA is among the fastest-growing sports in the world.
Gold in Super Lightweight
Interest in MMA is rising in Vienna, and Rachim Isaev’s achievement is likely to inspire even more enthusiasts. At the Youth World Championship in Al-Ain (Abu Dhabi, UAE), the MMA Vienna fighter fought through four tough matches to secure historic gold for Austria in the Super Lightweight category. In the final, he defeated Mirzabekov Mirbek from Kyrgyzstan.
Isaev shared on Instagram: “After five years of hard work, I finally did it, and at my first IMMAF World Championship. It’s unbelievable! I felt great in the first two matches, but after the third and fourth, I started losing strength. But I didn’t give up because I wanted the gold. And now I have it!”
Youth World Championship Participants
The Youth World Championship took place from July 21 to 27 in Abu Dhabi. Over 1,000 fighters from around 60 countries competed across the U11, U13, U15, and U17 age categories.
