Team Petrosyan representative Iuri Lapicus, 24, fights out of Moldova by way of Italy. He has the highest number of professional mixed martial arts wins among the undefeated MMA fighters currently signed in ONE Championship.

Lapicus was 15 years old when he moved from Moldova to Italy. He developed his grappling and striking skills at Team Petrosyan in Milan, Italy where he trains with Armenian-Italian brothers Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan, 34, and Armen Petrosyan, 33, who both competes in ONE Championship’s striking-only league ONE Super Series.

The last time Lapicus competed was on February 7, 2020 at “ONE: Warrior’s Code” at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. He submitted former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov, 35, of Russia, who made his debut in the lightweight division.

Currently, Lapicus holds a professional MMA record of 14 wins and 0 loss. He is the number one contender in ONE Championship’s lightweight division.

Lapicus was supposed to challenge reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee, 22, of Singapore on May 29, 2020 but it was postponed because of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Here is a recent interview I had with the undefeated Moldovan-Italian MMA fighter:

CONAN ALTATIS: Where are you spending the quarantine period and who are you spending it with?

IURI LAPICUS: I’m spending the quarantine period alone at my home but I never stopped training. I do workout everyday. Only a few days ago here in Italy, the containment measures have been changed so now, I can spend my time with my girlfriend and my nephew.

CA: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your career?

IL: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bout for one title that it was supposed to be on May 29 have been postponed and now, I still don’t know when it is gonna be so the pandemic is affecting my career in a very significant way. I can’t wait to go back to my gym to train with Giorgio and Armen Petrosyan.

CA: How do you assess how your country is handling the pandemic?

IL: I think that Italy is doing everything possible to guarantee safety but now, I think it’s time to try to get back to normality.