M-1 Challenge Heavyweight Champion Guram Gugenishvili Dies in Car Wreck at 28

Heartbreaking news out of Georgia today, where it is being reported that former M-1 heavyweight champion Guram Gugenishvili has been killed in a car accident at the far too young age of 28. The announcement was made public on M-1’s Facebook page last night, along with a statement that read, “He was going to fight in Japan at the end of 2014 and come back to M-1 Global in 2015. He was a great athlete and a kind, open-hearted person.”

With a career record of 12-2, Gugenishvili fought almost exclusively under the M-1 banner, with his lone outside appearance being his most recent — a first round TKO over Tony Bonello at Inoki Genome Fight 1 back in April. The win followed a 16-month injury-related absence from the ring.

No immediate details have been available about the collision or Gugenishvili’s injuries, but we will keep you updated as information is made available. After the jump: A video of Guram’s aforementioned win over Bonello.

Heartbreaking news out of Georgia today, where it is being reported that former M-1 heavyweight champion Guram Gugenishvili has been killed in a car accident at the far too young age of 28. The announcement was made public on M-1′s Facebook page last night, along with a statement that read, “He was going to fight in Japan at the end of 2014 and come back to M-1 Global in 2015. He was a great athlete and a kind, open-hearted person.”

–J. Jones