On September 5, the sixth tournament of the M13 FIGHTS veteran bare-knuckle league took place in the historic center of Kyiv. This time, the organizers decided to step beyond the usual confines of gyms and arenas: the ring and podium were set up on a barge moored at the river terminal. Fighters walked out to the audience along the podium to applause, and the entire evening took place under the open sky on the water. The program included about ten bouts, the first of which was fought in authentic knight's armor — the medieval format became one of the league's signature features.
Tournament format: from first-round knockouts to a full three-round fight
Per the rules, each fight was supposed to consist of three rounds, but most of the fighters put their opponents down in the first. The audience saw a full three-round bout only closer to the middle of the tournament. Such a result was, in essence, the exception rather than the rule: the level of preparation of the league's participants, consisting exclusively of active-duty military personnel and veterans of the Russo-Ukrainian war, allows fights to be finished at a high speed. Among the participants are defenders with injuries, amputations, and former prisoners of war, which makes each appearance on the ring not just a sporting event but a demonstration of resilience.
Title fight: "Lavruha" defended the belt and took the golden AK-47
The main event of the evening was the title fight, in which Vladyslav Lavrynenko, callsign "Lavruha," a fighter of the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard "Azov," came out to defend his title as the league's best fighter. Lavrynenko fought all three rounds, demonstrating skill and endurance. In the third round, his opponent was knocked down and himself refused to continue the fight. Thus "Lavruha" once again defended the title and received the tournament's main prize — a golden AK-47 assault rifle, which became the signature symbol of the M13 FIGHTS winner. With his tattooed arm and a T-shirt bearing an inscription about 1,569 days of captivity and the fight for the wounded and the prisoners, the fighter raised the trophy above his head against the backdrop of the ring surrounded by ropes.
"I will fight until the last brother is released from Russian captivity"
After defending his title, Vladyslav Lavrynenko made an emotional statement that summed up the meaning of the entire tournament: "I will fight until the last brother is released from Russian captivity." These words became not just a phrase but the programmatic position of the entire league, for which sport is a tool of social mission. The winner's T-shirt with the inscription in Ukrainian — "I am the one who fights for the wounded, for the captives, and the captives for the prisoners. 1,569 days in captivity" — became the visual manifesto of the evening, linking the ring with the real fates of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
What is M13 FIGHTS: a veteran league with biker aesthetics
M13 FIGHTS is a veteran bare-knuckle and contact martial arts league, launched in 2025 by the military motorcycle club MEMORIA MMC at the initiative of SSO veteran Artem Hrot. The project positions itself as a charitable and social platform: its goals are the psychological rehabilitation of participants, strengthening combat brotherhood, and fundraising for the needs of Ukrainian special units. The key feature of the league is that only military personnel and war veterans step onto the ring, including those who have survived injuries, amputations, or captivity. The main discipline remains bare-knuckle fighting, but the program is supplemented by bouts under traditional boxing rules, K-1 kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and medieval knightly combat. M13 FIGHTS is a sporting branch of the broader M13 veteran community, which also includes training and recovery spaces, a marksmanship training school, and a business hub. The combination of biker aesthetics and military culture creates a unique event format, where the emphasis is placed on unyielding character, respect, and support for brothers-in-arms. Reminder: the previous, fifth tournament of the league took place on April 26 in Khmelnytskyi.
