East vs West adds Paul Linn vs Eldar Bubenko for Batumi middleweights
Paul Linn gets a Batumi middleweight test against Eldar Bubenko, with Bogdan Stoica still on top and the title path still open.
East vs West has added Paul Linn against Eldar Bubenko to the Batumi middleweight lineup for EVW25 on August 1, 2026, giving the card a former champion who still has something to prove. The matchup matters because Linn is no longer just a name on a poster; he is trying to climb back into a division that already has a clear pecking order, and Bubenko is arriving with momentum.
EVW Sports lists Bogdan Stoica as the current right-arm middleweight world champion at 95kg, 209lb, after he beat Todd Hutchings 4-1 at EVW24. Hutchings is ranked second, followed by Irakli Zirakashvili, Rustam Babaiev and Linn at fifth. That setup makes Batumi more than a simple return date for Linn. It is a relevance check in a division where the champion has changed, the top five is crowded and every loss can push a contender farther from the belt.
For Linn, the assignment is specific. He has to show he can control the table, carry his power deep into a match and stay composed if Bubenko turns it into a long, grinding pull. Linn already has proof that he can win at this level. He beat Davit Samushia 3-1 at King of the Table 14 in Istanbul on May 10, 2025, and he was also featured in EVW middleweight programming against Arsen Khachatryan at East vs West 18 in Chicago on June 21, 2025. But his most recent EVW middleweight title meeting ended in a 3-0 loss to Stoica at East vs West 21 on December 13, 2025, which is why this bout carries more weight than a standard comeback appearance.
Bubenko brings a different kind of pressure. He beat Logan Bittinger 3-0 at East vs West 22 in Vienna, where EVW said nearly 3,000 fans packed Multiversum Schwechat for a sold-out show. That clean result gives him a real platform entering Batumi, and it is the kind of win that can move a puller from outsider to threat quickly in a division that does not have much room at the top.
EVW’s Batumi event page lists PPV at US$19.99 and in-person tickets starting at US$59, underscoring how much of the card is being built around more than one division. For Linn, the matchup is a chance to prove the former champion label still means something. For Bubenko, it is an opening to turn a single strong result into a real middleweight claim.
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