Inside the “UTMA Rising” Debut

Inside the “UTMA Rising” Debut

The “Unique & Talented Martial Artists” organization, better known in the Baltic states simply as “UTMA”, just saw the inaugural “UTMA Rising” event on January 17th at Švyturio Arena in Klaipėda, Lithuania.

The event was structured to give both emerging talents and known fighters a platform — an afternoon session featured eight open bouts providing an opportunity for aspiring martial artists to demonstrate their skills, while exciting prelims warmed up the audience for the main card involving Dominykas Dirkstys, Naglis Kanišauskas, Arnestas Naujokas and more.

This was a step forward for the “UTMA” organization, which is rapidly gaining traction as a hub for martial arts in the Baltic region. “UTMA Rising” was conceived to bridge the gap between the emerging grassroots and more hardened fighters by integrating open fights, preliminaries, and a must-see main card in a multi-tiered format.

Our media team saw a great opportunity to experience the action firsthand and traveled to Lithuania to capture the event from a bystander’s eyes. Check out the “UTMA Rising” vlog below!

The Main Card Highlights

Vitas Karosas, ranked third in the UTMA fighter rankings, faced health challenges during the “UTMA 10” back in November. Initially set for a 5-round title defense against Arnas Kalasiūnas, the bout was reclassified to a 3-round non-title match due to these issues. This made Karosas’ fight with Martynas Danius interesting, as fans were eager to see if Vitas had regained his form — and he had, landing a decision win.

Naglis Kanišauskas, a 24-year-old fighter with regular appearances in the “Cage Warriors” organization, returned to compete in Lithuania. He emphasized the need for unity in Klaipėda’s combat sports community — and the unity was definitely palpable. The SlotsFighter media team reports truly exceptional support from the locals, with high attendance at promotional events, chants at a shopping mall and a sold out arena. Like a cherry on top, Kanišauskas clinched a victory in the second round by knockout.

Just as expected, the loudest matchup involved Dominykas Dirkstys, representing “Muay Thai Imperija”. Dirkstys is at 5 wins and 2 losses under “UTMA” and ranked as first under pound for pound. His fight with Oskaras Buinickas was particularly exciting to watch out for, as both fighters got into a heated altercation during the pre-fight press conference. Indeed, Dirkstys’ confidence proved right yet again, with a first round knockout over the “UTMA” debutant Buinickas only one minute and thirty seconds into the fight.

Preliminary fights included four matchups:

  • Edgaras Semionov vs. Romualdas Auga (65 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Vilandas Valčiukas vs. Modestas Juodpusis (93 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Danyla Matiukov vs. Mantvydas Perednis (75 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Tomas Banskis vs. Kajus Žioba (81 kilograms, kickboxing)

And the main card featured six “veteran” fights:

  • Deividas Jemeljanovas vs. Evaldas Beleišis (86 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Natas Stupak vs. Dovydas Levickis (69 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Arnestas Naujokas vs. Osvaldas Fedorovič (71 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Martynas Danius vs. Vitas Karosas (67 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Naglis Kanišauskas vs. Isa Göçmen (84 kilograms, kickboxing)
  • Dominykas Dirkstys vs. Oskaras Buinickas (84 kilograms, kickboxing)

Check out some of our finest “UTMA Rising” highlights below! Photo credit: Adam Blake.

To top