Pull daily analyst goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in East vs West. Today, he takes a closer look at EVW 26 China’s Right Arm Middleweight World Championship match between Bogdan Stoica vs Irakli Zirakashvili.
Bogdan Stoica EVW 26 preview
Staple info:
- Record: 2-1 EVW
- Height: 6’3″ (192 cm) Age: 36 Weight: ~100 kg / 221 lb
- Last fight: Defeated Todd Hutchings 4–1, East vs. West 24, June 6, 2026
- Pulling style: Press / Hook, with the ability to toproll
- Biceps: 47 cm
- Forearm: 43 cm
- Wrist: ~18 cm
- Versatility: High
Supplemental info:
- Right-arm Middleweight World Champion — defeated Todd Hutchings 4–1.
- Extremely fast puller with a strong hand — Todd Hutchings specifically identified Stoica’s speed, hand size and height as major advantages.
- Powerful side pressure — Stoica himself described side pressure as his main weapon after his victory over Hutchings.
- Effective press — has demonstrated the ability to finish matches with a press, including against Todd Hutchings and Paul Linn.
- Can attack through multiple lanes — has won rounds using the press, toproll and hook rather than relying exclusively on one technique.
- Strong shoulder-to-shoulder engagement — against Hutchings, Stoica said he matched Hutchings’ shoulder commitment and used it to move him off-center.
- Good endurance under normal circumstances — Stoica stated that he usually has good endurance, although illness affected it against Hutchings.
- Willing to sacrifice a round strategically — when his elbow began hurting in Round 2 against Hutchings, he let the position go rather than risking further damage, explicitly saying he was focused on the long game.
^ Relatively new to the highest level compared with veterans — Hutchings identified his own experience as an advantage over Stoica’s speed, hand size and height.
^ Elbow has been a concern — Stoica reported that his elbow cracked during multiple positions against Hutchings and that he had to adjust his approach.
Irakli Zirakashvilu EVW 26 preview
Staple info:
- Record: 8-5 EVW 2-0 KOTT
- Height: 6’2″ (190 cm) Age: 28 Weight: ~95 kg /209 lb
- Last fight: Defeated Yoshinobu Kanai 3–0, EvW 24, June 6, 2026
- Pulling style: Toproll / outside-oriented, with the ability to transition into a hook
- Biceps: 47 cm
- Forearm: 44 cm
- Wrist: 21 cm
- Versatility: Medium
Supplemental info:
- + Former East vs. West 105 kg Right-Arm World Title challenger
- + Former East vs. West Middleweight World Champion — defeated Georgy Tautiev 4–0 for the title at EvW 15.
- + KOTT 5 winner — defeated Lachlan Adair 6–0.
- + Extremely strong for his bodyweight — his 18.5-inch biceps at a listed 95 kg frame are a notable physical advantage.
- + Strong hand control and back pressure — these have been identified as central components of his game.
- + Explosive first hit — has demonstrated the ability to catch opponents quickly, including flashing Sasho Andreev early in their match.
- + Powerful arm strength — particularly notable for his weight class; his strength in curls has been widely remarked upon.
- + Effective outside game — primarily works around hand control, back pressure and pronation rather than relying exclusively on an inside hook.
- + Can transition between outside and inside positions when the initial attack doesn’t produce the finish.
- ^ Relies heavily on hand control and back pressure to establish his preferred position.
- ^ His relatively light frame can become a disadvantage against much larger opponents — David Dadikyan, for example, competed at ~110 kg against Irakli’s ~105 kg.
- + Proven ability to compete above his normal weight class — he has faced significantly heavier opponents while remaining dangerous with his hand and arm strength.
Bogdan Stoica vs Irakli Zirakashvili: Middleweight maelstrom
The Right Arm Middleweight World Title match in Jiaxing features a showdown between Bogdan “The Specialist” Stoica, the reigning champion against Irakli Zirakashvili, the challenger looking to reclaim the belt he once held.
Bogdan has an arsenal of weapons; he has a ferocious hook, a diligent toproll and a vicious press with incredible side-pressure that has become a real problem for anyone sharing his weight class.
While on the other side Irakli has spent years sharpening his main weapon; his deadly toproll with his otherworldly backpressure that is enough to decimate any inside puller in the middleweight category.
Stoica has been on a roll—the way he dominated Paul Linn with phenomenal strength and technique and shocked the entire Armwrestling world on his debut at EVW. The lone blemish on his record is a loss against the “Georgian Pitbull” Nugzari Chikadze and that by no means was an easy victory for the Georgian. It was a grinder, a match that could’ve swung either way at any moment.
On the other hand Irakli is coming off a dominant performance against the “Japanese warlord” Yoshinobu Kanai, beating him 3-0. Yoshi is probably the best lightweight to never be the champion in EVW. He is a nightmare to fight against as he drains every bit of life out of you. But the way Irakli steamrolled the veteran was something shocking to anyone who has witnessed the terror in the eyes of Kanai’s opponents
Stoica’s range makes him look like the natural favorite on paper, and he probably should be, but Zirakashvili is not a man to be underestimated. He has such an absurd amount of backpressure for his weight that it’s almost impossible for someone to hook him and in years of watching this sport, it is difficult to recall anyone getting a clean press on him.
The only route opponents have found through him has been toprolling with heavy backpressure and hand control of their own, or attacking with precise, pronation-based side pressure. Zirakashvili has refined that single technique to a level where any opponent has to match or exceed his strength and precision just to get around it in a supermatch setting.
This is a title fight, and it goes best of seven. Surviving seven rounds against Zirakashvili has been close to a nightmare for most of the division, with the notable exception of Todd Hutchings. Stoica, for his part, has shown he can bring nightmares of his own. The champion has a freakish toproll which we saw him execute against one of the finest middleweight toproller in EVW, Nugzari Chikadze. Add in a hook that functions as a genuine offensive weapon and side pressure that few can match. But is this enough to make him victorious?
Bogdan Stoica vs Irakli Zirakashvili point of interest: Winning the hand battle
The Romanian has demonstrated how diligent he can be on the Armwrestling table.
Zirakashvili has faced Todd Hutchings three times in EVW and has yet to get the better of him even once. Stoica, in his most recent outing, ran through Hutchings as though he barely belonged in that category. But Armwrestling math rarely resolves that cleanly, though. Beating Hutchings tells us plenty about what Stoica is capable of, but that doesn’t tell much about his ability to replicate the same in Jiaxing.
The match will most likely be decided in the opening hand battle. Whoever secures the better starting position controls nearly everything that follows.
If Stoica can neutralize Zirakashvili’s hand with enough pronation or backpressure of his own, without surrendering his own hand in the exchange, his side pressure should be strong enough to drag the match his way. But if that early battle goes to Zirakashvili and he locks in the position he wants, the champion is looking at a very short night.
Bogdan Stoica vs. Irakli Zirakasvili start time, how to watch
Bogdan and Irakli would fight on 12 2026, September 12:00 p.m. ET. The match streams on EVW Sports.
