FISU World University Championship Combat Sports

The FISU University World Cup Combat Sports is an international multi-sport competition in combat sports organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) for university student-athletes. The event brings together several combat sport disciplines in a single tournament and forms part of FISU's programme of World University Cups and World University Championships.

Unlike the FISU World University Games, which are multi-sport events covering both team and individual sports, the University World Cup Combat Sports focuses exclusively on combat disciplines such as ju-jitsu, karate, muaythai, wrestling and wushu. The event is staged over a few days in a single host city, with student-athletes representing their universities and national university sports federations.

History

Following earlier standalone World University Championships in individual combat sports (for example wrestling and karate), FISU introduced a combined university combat sports event format in the early 2020s. Wrestling, for instance, moved from separate World University Wrestling Championships to the integrated University World Cup Combat Sports programme after its last standalone edition in 2018.

The first edition of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports was held in Samsun, Turkey, in September 2022, bringing together university athletes across several combat sports disciplines. Subsequent editions have continued to group multiple combat sports in one competition, with events hosted by different countries.

Editions

Year	Host city	Country	Notes
2022	Samsun	Turkey	Inaugural University World Cup Combat Sports; wrestling and other combat sports integrated into a single combined event.
2026	Brasília	Brazil	Scheduled university combat sports event with five disciplines: ju-jitsu, karate, muaythai, wrestling and wushu.

Sports

The programme of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports has included, or is scheduled to include, the following disciplines:

Ju-jitsu
Karate
Muaythai
Wrestling
Wushu

Additional combat sports may be added or removed in future editions based on decisions by FISU and the organising committees.

2022 Samsun

The inaugural edition of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports took place in Samsun, Turkey, from 26 to 30 September 2022. Wrestling formed one of the main disciplines, with competitions in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling. University teams from around 15 countries participated, and Turkey hosted and topped the overall medal table in wrestling.

Detailed results for wrestling at the 2022 University World Cup Combat Sports are recorded in a separate article, including medal tables, team rankings and medal summaries by weight category.

2026 Brasília

The 2026 edition of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports is scheduled to be held in Brasília, Brazil, from 8 to 13 June 2026. The event is expected to gather approximately 1,500 student-athletes from about 40 countries, competing in five combat sports: ju-jitsu, karate, muaythai, wrestling and wushu.

Competitions will take place at the CICB Complex in Brasília, with accredited participants accommodated in nearby facilities. The Brazilian University Sports Confederation (CBDU) and a local organising committee are responsible for staging the event under FISU regulations.

Relationship with other FISU events

The FISU University World Cup Combat Sports is part of FISU's wider university sports event portfolio, which includes the FISU World University Games, the FISU World University Championships, and other University World Cups in specific sports. While the World University Games serve as FISU's flagship multi-sport event, the University World Cup Combat Sports provides a focused platform for combat sports within the university context.

References