Born in the Moldovan mountains and raised in Italy, Iuri Lapicus is a great role model of how hard work, determination, and dedication always pay off.

Iuri started his journey as a martial artist in Judo in his birthplace before switching to mixed martial arts when he moved to Italy with his family in order to pursue a brighter future.

Because of his amazing raw talent and his incredible attitude, Iuri started to climb from the bottom rungs of the MMA amateur Italian rankings before rapidly exploding on the world stage was subsequently recruited by ONE Championship.

At ONE Championship, he surprised everyone by crushing the competition to set himself up for the lightweight title shot against defending Champion Christian Lee. Although Iuri eventually lost to Christian Lee, which was also the first setback of Iuri’s career, he now has another amazing opportunity to prove himself and compete against living legend Eddie Alvarez in an epic showdown on the 7th of April during ONE Championship’s Turner Network Television (TNT) debut in the USA.

So how did Iuri went from the bottom to the top?

Combined with hard work and a great attitude, Iuri was in a top-level environment that enabled him to have a solid development in mixed martial arts. In fact, because of GAMMA Italian Partner, Fight1, Iuri was provided access to the best national amateur tournaments in Italy as well as international connections. As such, he was able to build a high-profile career on his own through his pure talent and will.

Therefore, we want to encourage all the young GAMMA talents out there to stay committed and to continue putting in the hard work. During these difficult times, it is more important than ever to be in an environment that enables you to thrive.

Catch Iuri on 7^th of April in the ONE Super App or on YouTube because one day this could be you too.

Stay tuned for updates on our next continental tournaments and seize your opportunity to shine!