Kirill Grishenko

Belarusian standout Kirill Grishenko is quickly becoming one of the most feared heavyweights in MMA today.

The Minsk native started his martial arts journey with Greco-Roman wrestling when he was in the third grade. He represented his nation well in the sport, claiming various accolades, including two European Championships. Following that success, he became a coach at the country’s National Olympic Training Center.

However, Grishenko’s thirst for competition remained, and he transitioned to professional mixed martial arts in 2020. Though his inexperience made him an underdog, he quickly proved that he was a force to be reckoned with.

The Belarusian finished his first three opponents in the first round, including two via TKO, showing that he had added dangerous striking to complement his high-level wrestling. He signed with ONE Championship in 2021 and immediately made an impact by forcing Senegalese sensation “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane to throw in the towel after two rounds and then handing Canadian Dustin Joynson his first career loss.

Those victories catapulted Grishenko into a ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title showdown with Anatoly Malykhin in February 2022, and he remains a key player in the upper echelon of the division.