Olympic wrestling champion Zhan Beleniuk to make MMA debut on July 11
Zhan Beleniuk (Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion Zhan Beleniuk will make his mixed martial arts debut at an event organized by the new promotion Arena, the league’s press service announced on May 1.
The 35-year-old athlete is scheduled to fight on July 11 at the Palace of Sports in Kyiv. His opponent has not yet been named.
Another Greco-Roman wrestler, two-time Olympic silver medalist Parviz Nasibov, will also make his MMA debut on the same card.
Beleniuk announced his retirement from Greco-Roman wrestling after the 2024 Olympics. However, he was recently included in Ukraine’s national team roster for 2026.
He is the 2020 Olympic champion, silver medalist from Rio 2016 and bronze medalist from Paris 2024 — the first Ukrainian wrestler to win three Olympic medals. He is also a multiple world and European champion.
In 2019, Beleniuk was elected to the Ukrainian parliament as a member of the Servant of the People party.
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