Ignas Pauliukevičius won the UTMA 20 main event at Arena Vilnius on Saturday 24 October, stopping Naglis Kanišauskas in the third round after putting him down four times, according to TV3/BNS. In the co-main event Raimondas Avlasevičius beat Akram Belmekki to earn a shot at the 75 kg title, and the 81 kg tournament final is now set. A word on sourcing: when we wrote this, UTMA’s own official fight card was only partly filled in, so every result below is as reported by TV3/BNS and Sportas.lt, with LRT as a cross-check. For the build-up, here’s our Pauliukevičius vs Kanišauskas preview.
Pauliukevičius vs Kanišauskas: four knockdowns, stopped in the third
Kanišauskas, up at 95 kg for the first time, had the better of most of the first round. He kicked at Pauliukevičius’s left leg from the opening bell and landed to the head as well. Pauliukevičius kept walking forward, and late in the round a left followed by a right put Kanišauskas down.
The second round went the same way, only quicker. Pauliukevičius pressed from the start and dropped him again 35 seconds in. Kanišauskas got up, went back to the leg and saw the round out. In the third he took another clean right hand and answered with a combination of his own, but with 50 seconds left a two-punch combination put him down for a third time. One more clean shot in the closing seconds brought a fourth count, and the referee waved it off with about 20 seconds left in the round, TV3/BNS reports.
Pauliukevičius is now 8-1 in UTMA, which is what his official UTMA profile already shows. In the ring afterwards he called out Mantas Rimdeika, who also won on the card.
Avlasevičius earns a 75 kg title shot
Raimondas Avlasevičius, the former 75 kg champion, beat Akram Belmekki on the judges’ decision, his second win over him. Belmekki started with kicks to the body, but Avlasevičius dropped him with a body shot late in the first round and again with a knee after more body work in the second, then controlled the third with knees and body shots. The win makes him the next challenger for champion Nikola Cvetkovič, who took the belt from him at UTMA 13. No date has been announced.
“I roughly pictured how this fight would go. I thought I’d catch him to the stomach, and I did. Then to the head, and he went down,” Avlasevičius said afterwards (TV3/BNS, our translation).
The 81 kg final is set: Jemeljanovas vs Göçmen at UTMA 21
Both 81 kg tournament semi-finals went the distance. Deividas Jemeljanovas dominated Rodrigo Mineiro for three rounds, opening up with punches and knees and kicking at his lead leg, and took a unanimous decision. Mineiro never went down, and at the very end he got up from one of his cartwheel kicks and hit Jemeljanovas after the referee had already separated them, so the referee had to hold him back.
The other semi-final was closer for longer. Tomas Banskis, 18 and unbeaten in UTMA going in, moved well and left Isa Göçmen’s side red from body shots, but the Turkish fighter kept the pressure on and dropped him with a knee in the last seconds of the third. Banskis got up as time ran out, and Göçmen won the decision. TV3/BNS gives the round scores as 10-9, 10-9 and 10-8, all for Göçmen.
That sets up Jemeljanovas vs Göçmen for the 81 kg belt and the €50,000 prize at UTMA 21 on 28 November, according to TV3/BNS and LRT. It’s a rematch: Göçmen stopped Jemeljanovas in the third round at UTMA 13 in September 2025.
Pakutinskas vs Grigore changed to a draw
Tomas Pakutinskas’s farewell fight, at 95+ kg under kickboxing rules with small MMA gloves, ended with a long wait and then a decision for him. Ion Grigore had dropped him with a kick to the leg in the first round, and Pakutinskas came back with heavy punches in the second and third. After the fight he thanked his coaches and said goodbye to the sport.
The result didn’t stand. At the post-fight press conference UTMA head Viktoras Gecas said it had been changed to a draw, because Grigore should have won the first round 10-8, TV3/BNS reports. We haven’t seen the change on UTMA’s own results pages yet, so treat it as announced but not yet published by UTMA.
The rest of the main card
Vitas Karosas beat Cengiz Lale on the judges’ decision at 67 kg, his second win over the Turkish fighter. Lale chopped at Karosas’s lead leg early, but Karosas took over in the second and third with combinations up close. “I’ll be the first to hold the muay thai and kickboxing titles at the same time,” he said afterwards (TV3/BNS, our translation).
Raimondas Krilavičius beat Mantvydas Perednis on the cards at 75 kg in what TV3/BNS called an open three-round war. It was his second win over Perednis, and TV3/BNS reports he picked up a €1,000 bonus. At heavyweight (95+ kg), Mantas Rimdeika, in his first UTMA fight since UTMA 12, stopped debutant Markas Molotokas in the second round. Molotokas had a point taken off for repeated fouls, and after a standing count in the second he signalled to the referee that he was done (TV3/BNS, LRT).
Prelims and early prelims
Edvinas Šalkovski, in his first fight at 95 kg, dropped Burak Ünal with knees in the first round and finished him with another knee. Afterwards he said he’d take Pauliukevičius or Dominykas Dirkstys next. Mindaugas Gedminas, who came over from boxing, won his UTMA debut on the cards against Arnoldas Misiūnas, then offered Eimantas Stanionis a six-round boxing match and called on Dirkstys to come back and fight him. Matas Pultaražinskas took the third fight of his trilogy with Osvald Fedorovič on a decision, with round scores of 10-9, 9-10 and 10-9.
In the early prelims Ainas Baranauskas won all three rounds against Armandas Maknys and then agreed in the ring to fight Dovydas Rimkus at 81 kg. Arūnas Gruodys beat Eimantas Zarėčnyj on the cards, a decision part of the crowd booed. Bohdan Sytnyk was given the win over Pavlo Mihasi after the ringside doctor stopped the fight because of a cut from a clash of heads. The women’s 58 kg fight between Alina Martyniuk and Aya Boutafala was called off shortly before the walkouts, so the card ran 14 fights. There were no Latvian fighters on it.
UTMA 20 full results
All results as reported by TV3/BNS and Sportas.lt, with LRT as a cross-check. Every fight was scheduled for three three-minute rounds under kickboxing rules. UD or SD is given only where the reports and UTMA’s own card agree, and rounds or times are left out where no source gives one or the sources disagree.
WinnerWIgnas Pauliukevičius
LoserLNaglis Kanišauskas
WinnerWRaimondas Avlasevičius
LoserLAkram Belmekki
WinnerWIsa Göçmen
LoserLTomas Banskis
WinnerWDeividas Jemeljanovas
LoserLRodrigo Mineiro
WinnerWVitas Karosas
LoserLCengiz Lale
WinnerWRaimondas Krilavičius
LoserLMantvydas Perednis
WinnerWMantas Rimdeika
LoserLMarkas Molotokas
DrawDTomas Pakutinskas
DrawDIon Grigore
WinnerWEdvinas Šalkovski
LoserLBurak Ünal
WinnerWMindaugas Gedminas
LoserLArnoldas Misiūnas
WinnerWMatas Pultaražinskas
LoserLOsvald Fedorovič
WinnerWAinas Baranauskas
LoserLArmandas Maknys
WinnerWArūnas Gruodys
LoserLEimantas Zarėčnyj
WinnerWBohdan Sytnyk
LoserLPavlo Mihasi
