Yuri Bessmertny

Yuri Bessmertny
Юрый Бяссмертны
Born Yuri Gorbachev
(1987-08-27) August 27, 1987
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Native name Юрый Бяссмертны
Other names The Prince
Nationality Belarusian
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st)
Division Middleweight
Super Middleweight
Style Kickboxing, Muay Thai
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Minsk, Belarus
Team Chinuk Gym
Trainer Andrei Grydin
Years active 2004-present
Kickboxing record
Total 57
Wins 39
By knockout 19
Losses 17
Draws 1
last updated on: April 5, 2014

Yuri Gorbachev (Belarusian: Юрый Гарбачоў, born August 27, 1987), better known as Yuri Bessmertny (Belarusian: Юрый Бяссмертны), is a Belarusian Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions. After taking up Muay Thai at thirteen years old, he began his career in 2004 and rose to prominence by becoming a five-time national champion at both amateur and professional levels. Having established himself domestically, he then went on to win numerous European, intercontinental and world titles while fighting mostly in the former Soviet Union. In 2011, he won the Fight Code Dragon Series tournament featuring sixteen top 72.5 kg/160 lb fighters from around the world to break into the middleweight elite.

Early life

Although born as Yuri Gorbachev, he fights under the surname Bessmertny which means "immortal" in Belarusian.[1] He began practicing Muay Thai at the age of thirteen at the encouragement of his mother and considers legendary boxer Roy Jones, Jr. an idol of his.[2]

Career

After amassing around seventy bouts in amateur competition, Bessmertny turned professional and soon became a five-time national champion, three times under Oriental rules and twice in Muay Thai. Having outgrown the domestic scene, he then started fighting around the former Soviet Union and became a world champion for the first time in 2006 when he won the S-1 title in Poland.

He debuted in the K-1 promotion on March 17, 2007, competing in the K-1 East Europe MAX 2007 eight-man tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania. After beating local fighter Romualdas Klimavičius on points in the quarter-finals, he was eliminated in the semis when he lost to Moldova's Andrey Vakarash after an extension round. Various other belts would then follow as Bessmertny took the WAKO European title and the WMF world title in 2007, the WAKO world title in 2008, the WAKO World Cup in 2009, the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) intercontinental title in 2010[3] and the World Fights of Kick Boxing (WFKB) world title in 2011.[4][5]

In 2011, Bessmertny was invited to compete in the Fight Code Dragon Series, a sixteen-man -72.5 kg/160 lb tournament held throughout Europe that year. At the competition's opening round in Budapest, Hungary on May 1, 2011, he outpointed Selmedin Didic[6][7][8] to book his place in the quarter-finals where he was forced to fight Armen Petrosyan twice. The pair first met in Marseille, France on October 15, 2011 with Bessmertny coming away with a controversial split decision win.[9] As the Petrosyan camp disputed the decision, a rematch was set for Geneva, Switzerland on November 26, 2011 and Bessmertny put a decisive end to the bout this time.[10] Petrosyan came out aggressive in round one but was caught with a counter punch and knocked down. After beating the referee's count, the Italian kept up the aggression and was hit with a vicious right hook again, this time knocking him out.[11][12]

The semi-finals and the final of the tournament were both held on the same night on December 17, 2011 in Debrecen, Hungary. Bessmertny floored local fighter Norbert Balogh in rounds one and three en route to a unanimous decision win in the semis and came up against Thai star Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee in the final. Sudsakorn struggled with stamina problems throughout and Bessmertny was able to pick him apart over the three rounds to take another unanimous points victory, earning himself the tournament title and $80,000 in prize money.[13][14][15]

Coming off of the Fight Code tournament win, Bessmertny broke into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time in January 2012, placing at #7.[16] In his first bout as a world-ranked fighter, he took on former K-1 standout Gago Drago at Thai Boxe Mania in Turin, Italy on February 24, 2012. After outstriking Drago for two rounds, Bessmertny landed a high kick in the third which sent the Armenian faceplanting unconscious into the canvas.[17][18][19][20] He was then expected to face Fabio Sicilliani at Oktagon 2012 in Milan, Italy on March 24, 2012[21] but Sicilliani was replaced by Cristian Milea.[22] Bessmertny won via technical knockout in round three due to a corner stoppage.[23][24]

Bessmertny returned to Fight Code to compete in the 2012 Dragons Series, which was expanded to thirty-two participants, and took a lackluster points win over Edvin Erik Kibus at the opening stage in his hometown of Minsk on April 14, 2012.[25][26][27] He would be unable to defend his crown, however, as the promotion held just one more event before going out of business.

In his next outing, he fought to a draw with Issam Reghi at La Nuit des Challenges 11 in Lyon, France on June 2, 2012[28] and, having gone undefeated in the first half of the year, moved up to #5 in the world rankings in July 2012.[29]

He was scheduled to fight Abraham Roqueñi at Nitrianska Noc Bojovnikov in Nitra, Slovakia on October 27, 2012 but pulled out of the fight due to injury.[30][31] Bessmertny made his return against Roberto Cocco at a weight of 75 kg/165 lb at another Thai Boxe Mania event in Torino on November 24, 2012 and won by TKO due to a cut in round two. Even though the cut was caused by an accidental headbutt, Bessmertny was given the win rather than the bout being made a no contest.[32] Having not picked up a win in the -72.5 kg/160 lb division in eight months, Bessmertny dropped out of the middleweight world rankings in December 2012.[33]

Bessmertny took on his second Thai opponent in the form of Aikpracha Meenayothin in the semi-finals of a four-man tournament at La Nuit des Titans 2013 in Tours, France on February 2, 2013. Although he was bettered in round one and three, Bessmertny managed to score a standing eight count in the second which resulted in the bout being called a draw and taking it into an extension round. In the fourth round, however, Aikpracha was just too much and took the decision.[34][35]

Dropping down to 70 kg/154 lb, he lost a unanimous decision to Ashihara karate stylist Davit Kiria at Glory 7: Milan in Milan on April 20, 2013.[36][37] In the semi-finals of the -71 kg/156 lb tournament at the Legend Fighting Show in Moscow, Russia on May 25, 2013, he lost to Artur Kyshenko by unanimous decision after an extra round.[38][39][40] Bessmertny was to fight in the WKN Big 8 Tournament 2013 in Minsk, Belarus on June 3, 2013 and meet Dmitry Valent in the quarter-finals but it fell through.[41] He instead took on Karim Ghajji at Time Fight 3 in Tours, France on June 15, 2013 and his slow start was once again his downfall as he lost by unanimous decision for the third consecutive time.[42] He lost to Steve Moxon by UD at Kings of Kombat 10 in Melbourne, Australia on September 7, 2013.[43] On October 11, 2013, Bessmertny was outpointed bt Djimé Coulibaly at Warriors Night in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.[44]

He put an end to his five-fight losing skid when he defeated Warren Stevelmans by UD at Thai Boxe Mania in Turin, Italy on January 25, 2014.[45] Following this, he knocked out Abdallah Mabel in round two at Nitrianska Noc Bojovníkov in Nitra on March 1, 2014.[46] Bessmertny lost to Andy Souwer via UD at Legend 3: Pour Homme in Milan on April 5, 2014.[47]

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Yuri Bessmertny". FightLife.ru. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Yury Bessmertny « World Kickboxing Federation". Wkfworld.com. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Fight Code Budapest Fight Card". LiverKick.com.
  7. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Don't Forget; Fight Code Live 2:45pm Eastern Time on Sunday!". LiverKick.com.
  8. ↑ Dave Walsh. "A Look at the Fight Code Dragons Series". LiverKick.com.
  9. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Dragons Final 8 Live Results". LiverKick.com.
  10. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Armen Petrosyan and Xu Yan Allowed Fight Code Redemption in November". LiverKick.com.
  11. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Rhinos Final Live Results". LiverKick.com.
  12. ↑ Parviz Iskenderov (29 November 2011). "Belarus Jury Bessmertny KO's Armen Petrosyan (Video) - Fightmag". Fightmag.
  13. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Dragons -72.5kg Finals Set For Saturday". LiverKick.com.
  14. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Dragons Finals Live Results". LiverKick.com.
  15. ↑ Parviz Iskenderov (19 December 2011). "Sudsakorn got defeated by Belarus Yury Bessmertny (Video)". Fightmag.
  16. ↑ Dave Walsh. "LiverKick.com Middleweight Rankings: January 2012". LiverKick.com.
  17. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Take a Deep Breath, Another Big Event Coming Up; Thai Boxe Mania 2012". LiverKick.com.
  18. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Artur Kyshenko and Yury Bessmertny Return Tomorrow". LiverKick.com.
  19. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Thai Boxe Mania Results: Kyshenko Wins, Bessmertny KOs Drago With Head Kick". LiverKick.com.
  20. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Thai Boxe Mania Videos: Kyshenko vs. Cocco, Bessmertny KOs Drago With Head Kick". LiverKick.com.
  21. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Dragons Winner Yury Bessmertny Already Has Two Fights Lined Up". LiverKick.com.
  22. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Oktagon: Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Artur Kyshenko Fight Card For Tomorrow, March 23". LiverKick.com.
  23. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Artur Kyshenko Live Results". LiverKick.com.
  24. ↑ Fraser Coffeen (26 March 2012). "Kickboxing Results: Petrosyan, Schilt, Kharitonov Reign Supreme". Bloody Elbow.
  25. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code in Minsk April 14, Dragons Tournament Continues". LiverKick.com.
  26. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Tomorrow Features Allazov, Bessmertny, Shakuta". LiverKick.com.
  27. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Fight Code Minsk Results: Allazov, Bessmertny, Shakuta Win". LiverKick.com.
  28. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Weekend Results: Lidon, H. Bennoui, Kulebin, Ben Saddik Win, Bessmertny Draws". LiverKick.com.
  29. ↑ Dave Walsh. "LiverKick.com Rankings - July 2012". LiverKick.com.
  30. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Alright, Here's 10 More Fights To Watch In October". LiverKick.com.
  31. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Ondrej Hutnik Wins In Slovakia". LiverKick.com.
  32. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Thai Boxe Mania Results: Bessmertny, Gogokhia pick up wins". LiverKick.com.
  33. ↑ Rian Scalia. "LiverKick.com Middleweight Rankings - December 2012". LiverKick.com.
  34. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Nuit des Titans on Saturday: Big Tournament/Fight Card with Aikpracha, Pinca, Lidon". LiverKick.com.
  35. ↑ Rian Scalia. "Karim Ghajji Scores Huge Tournament Win, Beats Lidon and Aikpracha". LiverKick.com.
  36. ↑ Rian Scalia. "GLORY 7 Milan Fight Card For April 20". LiverKick.com.
  37. ↑ Rian Scalia. "GLORY 7 Milan Live Results". LiverKick.com.
  38. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Mike Zambidis, Dzhabar Askerov, Artur Kyshenko, and Yuri Bessmertny set for 4 Man Tournament in Russia". LiverKick.com.
  39. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Legend Fighting in Russia Full Results". LiverKick.com.
  40. ↑ Fraser Coffeen (25 May 2013). "LEGEND results and gifs: Badr Hari KO'd, Sapp loses again". Bloody Elbow.
  41. ↑ Parviz Iskenderov (16 April 2012). "Kings of Muay Thai, Belarus June 3 (Video)". Fightmag.
  42. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Jerome Le Banner Successful Against Roman Kleibl". LiverKick.com.
  43. ↑ "Kings of Kombat 10 Results: Edwards Beats Morosanu by Unanimous Decision". Bonus Round Kickboxing.
  44. ↑ Ma rĂŠaction. "Răšsultats Du Warriors Night | Muaythaitv". Fr.muaythaitv.com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  45. ↑ "Results: Thai Boxe Mania 2014 – Torino 25-01-2014". Muay Farang - Muay Thai News.
  46. ↑ "Nitrianska Noc Bojovníkov 2014". Fightnews.sk. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  47. ↑ Dave Walsh. "Weekend Results: LEGEND III". LiverKick.com.
  48. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
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