Jerusalem, 23 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Less than two days after an electrifying knockout in Lithuania, Israeli kickboxer Ahavat Hashem Gordon returned home on Monday to a hero’s welcome that stretched across Ben Gurion Airport. Crowds cheered, waved Israeli flags, and captured the moment on phones as Gordon, 19, emerged from the plane, his unbeaten record now standing at 11 victories without a single loss.
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” Gordon said at a press conference shortly after landing. “It’s all from God. If I had let everything that was happening get into my head, it would have thrown me off balance, and I would have stopped this fight.”
The fight, held under Muay Thai rules with MMA gloves in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Saturday night, saw Gordon face Turkish fighter Ali Koyuncu in the 63.5 kg weight class. Koyuncu repeatedly taunted Gordon on social media in the days before the match with anti-Israel and antisemitic remarks. Tensions continued at the pre-fight weigh-in as Koyuncu lunged toward Gordon, trying to grab him by the throat. Before officials could separate the fighters, Koyuncu managed to strike Gordon with a sharp kick to the stomach.
Gordon said the provocations ultimately made his victory even more meaningful.
“Once he brought politics into sports, there’s no going back,” Gordon said. “I’m proud to have shown the world that the Israeli people are strong. I gave strength and showed that an Israeli Jew can fight openly, with a kippa [skullcap] and tzitzit [ritual tassels worn on the four corners of a Jewish prayer shawl or garment], without hiding who he is.”
The fight ended in a technical knockout during the second round after Koyuncu suffered a leg injury.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar praised Gordon’s victory, calling it “another brilliant victory for our Israeli fighter.”
Amid the celebration, Gordon acknowledged that the weeks leading up to the fight were tense. “Did I receive antisemitic comments? Yes, I did. Not only me, my family did too. But we do what we have to do, and we do the right thing,” he said. Messages from Israel Defense Forces soldiers, who had watched the fight, were particularly moving. “It touched me almost to tears,” he said.
Gordon also described confronting Koyuncu. “Yes, there was anger. I asked him why he wrote what he wrote and told him not to do it again. I respect him for stepping into the arena — it takes courage — but other than that, I don’t respect him.”
Gordon has seven siblings, six of whom also practice Thai boxing. His mother, Haninat, born in Hong Kong and of Thai and Philippine ancestry, converted to Judaism, while his late father, Israeli-American Azriel Gordon, passed away four years ago. His older brother, Ruach Hashem, won a silver medal for Israel at the Muay Thai World Games in China last year.
Looking ahead, Gordon stressed that his story is about more than fighting. “My message to young people who want to succeed is that if you have a dream, don’t let anyone bring you down. Be focused and believe,” he said.
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