HYPE Armenia Tournament Kicks Off with Two Wins by Armenian Fighters

On December 30, the HYPE Armenia fighting tournament began in Yerevan, opening with two bare-knuckle bouts in which Armenian fighters claimed victory.

In the first fight, Arman Tsarukyan (a namesake of the UFC fighter, but not the same person) made a strong statement. This was his ring debut: Tsarukyan accepted the fight on short notice after personally requesting it at a press conference on December 28. Just two days later, he entered the ring and knocked out Haskil Amirkhanov, delivering an impressive start to the tournament. Symbolically, HYPE Armenia was opened by one Arman Tsarukyan and is set to be closed by another — the well-known UFC fighter.

In the second bout, another Armenian athlete, Armen Ataev, defeated Isa Alibekov by unanimous decision after three rounds. This was also Ataev’s debut in bare-knuckle fighting, but he came into the tournament with solid boxing credentials, having spent 10 years in professional boxing.

The tournament will continue later that evening, and the opening results have already set a high standard for the rest of the show.