Davit Kiria
Ashihara karate base rebuilt in the Dutch system: forward pressure, combination volume, and the durability to win a fight he was losing.
Davit Kiria came out of Ashihara karate in Georgia and into the Dutch system at Golden Glory, and the combination shows: pressure and combination volume in the Dutch pattern, thrown by someone whose base was a knockdown karate code.
His title win is the one worth watching. Down on the cards through the first three rounds against Andy Ristie and knocked down along the way, he finished Ristie in the fifth to take the inaugural GLORY lightweight title — a result that only exists because the fight was scheduled long enough for a comeback. Under a three-round card he loses that night comfortably.
He later added the Kunlun Fight 70 kg tournament and fought in ONE, moving between codes with the adaptability the modern lighter divisions demand.