AFS 1 wraps at Tashir Arena with a 15M ֏ prize purse

On April 19, 2026, Tashir Arena in Yerevan hosted the debut event of ARMAT Fight Show. The promotion, founded by Armenian fighters Armen Gulyan and Eduard Vartanyan, delivered the largest pro MMA night in the country's history: 12 bouts on a single card, a 15 million dram prize purse, four main-card pro fights, and Grand Prix finals across all eight weight classes.

AFS 1 was built in two layers. The day before, on April 18, an amateur MMA tournament settled the Grand Prix finalists across all eight divisions. The winners advanced to the main arena and fought their finals under pro MMA rules. The purse split was simple: each weight-class champion took home 1 million drams, the runner-up 500 thousand.

The Grand Prix went one way. Eight finals, eight wins, six early finishes. At heavyweight Martun Alaverdyan beat Nare Poghosyan by unanimous decision, 29-27. At light heavyweight Vasak Barseghyan locked in a first-round submission over Leonid Melikyan. At middleweight, undefeated Tatul Avagyan (now 7-0 after AFS 1) stopped seasoned Arthur Agajanyan by TKO in round one.

At welterweight Narek Gabrielyan took a unanimous decision 29-28 over 14-fight veteran Arthur Malkhasyan. At lightweight Arsen Avedisyan closed his bout by TKO in round one over Tigran Nazaryan. At featherweight Sergo Aleksanyan finished David Khachaturyan by submission in the third — the only final to reach the third round. Narek Arushanyan (bantamweight) and Ruslan Asoyan (flyweight) both took first-round submissions.

The main card opened with undefeated bantamweight Agasi Akopyan (7-0): a unanimous decision — 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 — over Brazilian veteran Roni Enrique, who entered the cage with nearly 40 pro fights on his ledger.

At middleweight Suren Petrosyan stopped Kazakhstan's Ansar Kasymzhanov by TKO in the second round. In the co-main, 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling (66 kg) Mihran "Maestro" Harutyunyan stopped Tajikistan's Muhammadrasul Khasanov by TKO in round two.

The main event at middleweight ended in the third: Brazilian Diego Dias (now 21-7) submitted Armenian middleweight Gennadiy "Motivator" Makaryan. Makaryan walked in off a December 2025 KO over Shamil Gasanbekov at HYPE Armenia, but Dias's BJJ depth proved decisive in the championship round.

AFS 1 closed the books in full: the 15 million dram purse — the largest ever in Armenian pro MMA — was paid out across the night's competitors. Tashir Arena delivered its first full pro MMA event without a technical hitch. The date for AFS 2 will be announced in the coming weeks.