The Ukrainian national team begins competition at the World Martial Arts Championship

October 17, 2025
combat ico

The Ukrainian national team begins its competition at the World Martial Arts Championship in Great Britain.

The World Championship is held from October 15 to 19, 2025 in Swansea, Wales by the International Martial Arts Sports Association COMBAT SELF DEFENSE ICO.

The Ukrainian national team consists of 64 fighters, including military personnel. Athletes compete in three divisions: light, heavy and full contact, which combine 30 types of martial arts – boxing, Thai boxing, kickboxing, K-1, mixed martial arts, wrestling, etc.

The high level of Ukrainian athletes at the World Championship was confirmed by the president and founder of the Combat Self-Defense ICO Association, Major General of the Reserve Mykola Zentsev.

A commemorative souvenir from the World Championship from the Ukrainian national team. Photo: Serhiy Kozenko

“We are ready to win and prove once again on world platforms that Ukrainian fighters are the best, and we will bring glory to Ukraine in sports fights at the World Championship in Britain,” he promised.

The head coach of the “Combat Self-Defense ICO” Association is Oleksandr Slipchenko, an honored coach of Ukraine with 45 years of experience, an honored worker of physical culture and sports of Ukraine, who has trained dozens of world champions, masters of sports of international class and Ukraine.

Ukraine confidently wins prizes at the world championships in martial arts: 2017, Birmingham (Great Britain) – 3rd team place; 2018, Rome (Italy) – 2nd team place; 2019, Motherwell (Scotland, Great Britain) – 3rd team place; 2022, Nagykanizsa (Hungary) – 1st team place; 2023, Hala (Great Britain) – 3rd team place; 2024, Frankfurt am Main (Germany) – 1st team place.

Coach of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Slipchenko (third from the left). Photo: Serhiy Kozenko

The International Martial Arts Sports Association COMBAT SELF DEFENSE ICO was founded in the UK in 2009. Ukraine has been a full member of the international association since 2015. In 2017, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine recognized and cultivates this direction as a separate non-Olympic sport. Since 2021, the All-Ukrainian Association “Combat Self-Defense ICO” has acquired the status of the National Martial Arts Federation of Ukraine.

,