Vartanyan, Manavazyan and Kazaryan will compete at ACA 202 in Saint Petersburg

In April, Armenian sports fans will witness a number of exciting events. One of them will be the MMA tournament ACA 202, which will take place on April 12 in Saint Petersburg.

In the co-main event, one of the stars of Armenian MMA, Eduard Vartanyan (27–4), will compete. Recently, he has been living and training in Armenia at the new gym of the “Lion Heart” martial arts academy, where he is one of the leading members of the team.

At the Saint Petersburg event, Vartanyan will return to ACA, where he previously won the lightweight Grand Prix. However, this time he will make his debut in a new weight class — welterweight. His opponent will be one of the league’s top fighters, Uzair Abdurakov (20–2–1), who is ranked No. 3 in the ACA welterweight division. In his last fight, he competed for the championship belt against Zhakshylyk Myrzabekov but lost via submission. Before that, Abdurakov was on a seven-fight winning streak.

The Vartanyan vs. Abdurakov matchup has generated significant interest, and the winner will become the main contender for the championship title.

Two more bouts featuring Armenian fighters are also scheduled on the preliminary card.

Ayk Kazaryan (17–5) vs. Tomasz Dęk (24–14–1), bantamweight

Ayk Kazaryan accepted this fight on short notice, replacing Pavel Vitruk. He was originally scheduled to compete at ACA 201 in Minsk, but that bout was canceled due to his opponent withdrawing. As a result, he had a full training camp and will be ready to compete.

Kazaryan is currently on a three-fight winning streak and holds the No. 11 ranking. His opponent is ranked No. 9, meaning a victory could significantly improve the Armenian fighter’s position. The 35-year-old Slovak fighter Tomasz Dęk has already fought eight times in ACA, winning four of them. He alternates wins and losses, but in his last bout he defeated Rasul Albaskhanov by decision. Before joining ACA, Dęk became champion in both Fight Nights and Oktagon promotions.

Gegham Manavazyan (7–3) vs. Mahmoud Akimov (9–1–1), featherweight

The 33-year-old Gegham Manavazyan has fought three times in ACA, winning two of those bouts. In his last fight, he lost to Radzhab Ramazanov via submission, so he is now looking to bounce back.

However, his opponent is far from easy. ACA debutant Mahmoud Akimov is riding a 10-fight unbeaten streak. He has finished all of his wins early — seven by knockout and two by submission. Akimov is considered a strong striker and also has boxing experience.