Spain's 27th seed Milán Cánovas upsets world champion at Rome Grand Prix

Juan Antonio Milán Cánovas of Spain, seeded 27th, routed reigning world champion Henrique Marques Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil 15-4 and 22-5 to claim the men's under-80 kilogram gold medal Friday at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Rome, according to The Korea Times.

The lopsided scoreline capped a tournament run that included a dramatic three-round semifinal comeback, ending with the defeat of the fighter World Taekwondo named its 2025 Male Athlete of the Year. The results drew notice from the Korean-American community across Southern California, as South Korea's No. 2-seeded Kim Yu-jin competed in the women's under-57 kilogram final on the same card.

Milán Cánovas's road to gold began with a near-elimination. In the men's under-80 kilogram semifinal, he fell behind CJ Nickolas of the United States 18-1 after the opening round before rallying to win the next two rounds 9-7 and 11-9, The Korea Times reported.

He carried that momentum into the final, where he overpowered Fernandes — the 2025 World Taekwondo Male Athlete of the Year and the tournament's top Brazilian contender — in both rounds. The defending world champion had no response to the underdog Spaniard's attack across either period.

In the women's under-57 kilogram division, top-seeded Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil swept through the bracket without dropping a single round, defeating South Korea's Kim Yu-jin 6-2 and 14-2 in the final. The bout was a rematch of the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships gold medal match, according to The Korea Times.

Women's under-67 kilogram gold went to Hungary's Viviana Márton, who dispatched Serbia's Aleksandra Perišić 12-4 and 10-2. The pairing reprised the 2024 Paris Olympics final, with Márton again claiming victory by a wide margin.

South Korea's Hong Hyo-rim also competed at the Foro Italico on opening day. She was joined in the draw by European champion Stefan Takov of Serbia, under-21 world champion Amina Dehhaoui of Morocco and Canada's third-seeded Ella Brewster, The Korea Times reported.

The Rome Grand Prix continues through the weekend at the Foro Italico.