Yulia Sachkov

Yulia Sachkov (Hebrew: יוליה סצ'קוב; born 28 December 1998) is an Israeli kickboxer.

She immigrated to Israel from Kazakhstan at the age of two and grew up in Haifa where she lives. Sachkov trains under Michael Britavsky and completed her service in the Israel Defense Forces. She also works as a trainer. She is a multiple Israeli champion and the winner of multiple international tournaments held under the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) in weight categories ranging from 48 to 56 kilograms. She has received national sports awards.

Sachkov was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at just six months of gestation. At birth she weighed only 900 grams, and doctors doubted she would survive.^[10][11][12] At the age of two, she immigrated to Israel with her parents and has lived in Haifa since childhood.^[11][12][13]

She began practicing martial arts at the age of 13 or 14, according to different sources. While attending a children’s sports camp, she chose the hand-to-hand combat system of Krav Maga from the available disciplines.^[10][11][14] She was the only girl in this training group, which was led by coach Michael Britavsky.^[15]

During training, Britavsky noted her natural competitive drive. Under his guidance, Sachkov tried several combat sports—karate, taekwondo, and judo—before ultimately choosing kickboxing because it offered the fewest restrictions in striking technique.^[11][15]

She served in the Israel Defense Forces.^[16] She works in Haifa as a coach for children and youth.^[14]

In 2015, Sachkov became the Israeli kickboxing champion for the first time.^[11]

In 2017–2018, she tried her hand at mixed martial arts (MMA), taking part in two professional fights, both of which ended in defeat.^[1]

Since 2016, she has won a number of medals at international tournaments held under the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) in weight categories ranging from 48 to 56 kilograms.^[17]

In May 2016, she won the junior kickboxing World Cup in Budapest (Hungary), defeating Marie Annabelle Coré from Mauritania and Nikoletta Cotun from Moldova.^[18][19][20] At the Junior World Championships in Dublin (Ireland), in the −52 kg category, she lost her fight to the Polish athlete Roksana Dargiel and got a bronze medal.^[21]

In September 2017, she won the European Junior Kickboxing Championships in Skopje (North Macedonia), defeating Diana Shkvarok of Ukraine, Romalea Mesindianu of Greece, and Paulina Turulska of Poland.^[3][4]

In November, she earned a bronze medal at the senior World Championships in Budapest, defeating Emma Dignam of Ireland and Valery Castaneda of Guatemala, before losing in the semifinal to the Hungarian athlete Gabriella Busa.^[22]

In 2018, she took first place at the Bestfighter World Cup in Rimini (Italy),^[23] defeating the Italian athletes Elena Cardoni and Francesca Tentorio.^[24]

That same year, she earned a bronze medal at the European Kickboxing Championships in Bratislava (Slovakia), defeating Zekiye Zelal Şengür of Turkey but losing to the French athlete Myriam Djedidi.^[25]

In 2019, she became the world champion in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) under K-1 rules, defeating Hanna Dubyna of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, Lyudmila Chyslova of Belarus in the semifinals, and Klára Strnadová of the Czech Republic in the final.^[5][6][26]

In 2020, during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she won the Athletic Martial Arts – VIP Home Championships. The competition featured 15 leading Israeli fighters and world champions, who performed nine specialized exercises at home, each corresponding to different martial arts styles.^[27]

In May 2021, she competed at the European Cup Karlovac Open 2021 in Karlovac, Croatia, in the −52 kg category, losing to the Ukrainian athlete Mariya Belkina.^[28]

In September, she won the 26th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup in Budapest in the −48 kg category, defeating the Polish athletes Kamila Gołębiewska and Dominika Chylińska.^[20][29]

In October, at the World Championships in Jesolo (Italy), she lost in the quarterfinals to Russian athlete Diana Doktugu and finished in fifth place.^[30]

In March 2022, she won the Serbia Open – WAKO European Cup in Kraljevo (Serbia), defeating the Serbian athlete Marta Vučić under K-1 rules in the −48 kg category. At the same event, she took first place under KL rules in the −50 kg and −55 kg categories, defeating the North Macedonian athletes Lea Boshevska and Andrea Kostovska.^[31]

In May, at the International Turkish Open Kickboxing World Cup, she lost under KL rules in the −50 kg category to the Turkish athlete Duygu Turan.^[32] In the −55 kg category she defeated the Turkish athlete Seyma Denktas and Slovakia’s Lucia Fečkova, but lost in the final to Fatima Begmuradova of Tajikistan, earning a silver medal.^[33] Under LC rules in the −50 kg category, she was defeated by Tyra Barada of Slovenia.^[34] In the −55 kg category, she defeated the Turkish athlete Celik Hacer Kadriye but then lost to her compatriot Sağlam Sultan, earning a bronze medal.^[35]

In June, she won the 27th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup in Budapest in the −48 kg category, once again defeating Kamila Gołębiewska and Dominika Chylińska.^[36]

In July, she won the Uzbekistan Open — 2 tournament held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), defeating Uzbekistan’s Shirinoy Zokhidova in the quarterfinals, South Korea’s Im Yugyeon in the semifinals, and Turkey’s Derya Kirmizigul in the final.^[37][38]

In November, she earned a silver medal at the WAKO European Championships 2022 in Antalya (Turkey), defeating Aleksandra Džikaeva of Estonia in the semifinals and losing in the final to the Turkish athlete Zeynep Çetintaş.^[39]

In June 2023, she won the 28th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup (K-1, −52 kg), consecutively defeating Sirin Biščević of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zsofia Nagy of Hungary, Niina Ojonen of Finland, and Darina Ivanova of Ukraine.^[40]

In September, she earned a silver medal at the Italian World Cup, losing in the final bout to Klára Strnadová.^[17][41]

In November, she competed at the World Championships in Albufeira (Portugal), winning her first fight against Fatima Rajabzade Shahbandlu of Azerbaijan but losing the next bout to Darina Ivanova.^[42]

In January 2024, she won the European Cup held in Athens (Greece), defeating Italian fighter Elena Cardoni in the semifinal and scoring a knockout victory in the final against Viktória Dóra Bálint-Pálfi of Hungary.^[43][44]

In February, she won the European Cup Zagreb Open (ex Karlovac Open) in Croatia in the K-1 −52 kg category, defeating Austria’s Rafaela Zweimüller and Viktória Bálint-Pálfi.^[45]

In March, she competed at the Italian World Cup in Jesolo (Italy), where in the K-1 −52 kg category she defeated Austrian fighter Rebecca Hödl and once again beat Viktória Bálint-Pálfi to reach the final, where she lost the decisive bout to Klára Strnadová and took the silver medal.^[46]

In June, she took part in the 29th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup in Budapest, where she defeated Elena Cardoni but lost to Darina Ivanova, taking third place in the K-1 −52 kg category.^[47]

In November, at the European Championships also held in Athens, she achieved consecutive victories over Cristina Morales of Spain, Noora Al-Saffu of Finland, and Feyzanur Azizoglu of Turkey, and in the final defeated Klára Strnadová to win the gold medal.^[48]

In January 2025, she competed at the Athens Challenge European Cup in Athens, where she defeated Elena Cardoni and took first place in the K-1 −52 kg category.^[49]

In March, at the Italian Kickboxing World Cup, she defeated Elena Cardoni in the semifinal but lost the final bout to Klára Strnadová.^[50]

In April, she won the 1st Thailand Kickboxing World Cup in Bangkok (Thailand), defeating Claudine Veloso of the Philippines in the quarterfinal, Rattanaphon Hanphan of Thailand in the semifinal, and Klára Strnadová in the final.^[51]

In June, she won the 30th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup in Budapest, defeating Chiara Pagliuca of Italy in the quarterfinal, Konstantina Aroniada of Greece in the semifinal, and Darina Ivanova in the final.^[52]

In August, she became the kickboxing champion at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu (China), winning consecutive bouts against Moroccan fighter Meriem El Moubarik in the quarterfinal, Darina Ivanova in the semifinal, and Klára Strnadová in the final.^[8][53][54]

In November, she once again took first place at the K-1 World Kickboxing Championships in the −52 kg category. Her Egyptian opponent, Raouda Mohammed, failed to appear for their bout, and she went on to defeat Daryna Ivanova in the semifinal and Klára Strnadová in the final.^[9]

The following fight record is based on data from sports websites.^[1][17]

• 2016 Junior World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[18]
• 2016 Cadets & Juniors World Championship K-1 (−52 kg) ^[21]
• 2017 European Junior Championship K-1 (−50 kg) ^[3]
• 2017 World Championship K-1 (−50 kg) ^[22]
• 2018 Bestfighter World Cup K-1 (−48 kg) ^[24]
• 2018 European Championship K-1 (−48 kg) ^[25]
• 2019 World Championship K-1 (−48 kg) ^[5]
• 2021 26th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−48 kg) ^[29]
• 2022 Serbia Open – European Cup K-1 (−48 kg) ^[31]
• 2022 Serbia Open – European Cup KL (−55 kg) ^[31]
• 2022 Serbia Open – European Cup KL (−50 kg) ^[31]
• 2022 Turkish Open Kickboxing World Cup KL (−55 kg) ^[33]
• 2022 Turkish Open Kickboxing World Cup LC (−55 kg) ^[35]
• 2022 Turkish Open Kickboxing World Cup LC (−50 kg) ^[34]
• 2022 27th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−48 kg) ^[36]
• 2022 Uzbekistan Open-2 K-1 (−48 kg) ^[37]
• 2022 European Championship K-1 (−48 kg) ^[39]
• 2023 28th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[40]
• 2024 European Cup – Athens K-1 (−52 kg) ^[43]
• 2024 European Cup Zagreb Open K-1 (−52 kg) ^[45]
• 2024 Italian World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[46]
• 2024 29th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[47]
• 2024 European Championship K-1 (−52 kg) ^[48]
• 2025 Athens Challenge European Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[49]
• 2025 Italian World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[50]
• 2025 1st Thailand Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[51]
• 2025 30th Hungarian Kickboxing World Cup K-1 (−52 kg) ^[52]
• 2025 WAKO World Kickboxing Championships K-1 (−52 kg) ^[9]

• 2025 World Games K-1 (−52 kg)

In 2017, Sachkov received the “Israeli Young Athlete of the Year” award from the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport, Miri Regev, for her sporting achievements.^[66]

In 2020, following her victory in remotely held competitions during the COVID-19 restrictions, she was recognized as “the most athletic female athlete in Israel.”^[27]

• Yulia Sachkov on Twitter
• Yulia Sachkov on Instagram
• Yulia Sachkov at Bellator
• Professional MMA record for Yulia Sachkov from Sherdog