IMMAF [Amateur] World Championships 2018 Preview

mattandbenny

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So i have been a bit quiet around here for a while for many reasons, some of which involves something i am working on for the year end/early next year (if you follow my previous threads over the past few years you can probably guess what it is) which has been taking up a lot of time.

Back on topic.... I am a huge fan of IMMAF and their World Championsjips & European Championships that they put on each year and think it is the closes thing to an amateur olympic-style competition that we have. This year is the biggest yet with 286 participants 51 different countries. Furthermore there is also the Junior World Championships (for fighters ages 18-20) where another 86 competitors from 36 different countries.

I won't list each fighter competing but will do a little preview of each weight class with who i think will be the main contenders. Some fighters it is extremely hard to get any records or information about (mainly Russians, Kazakhstans, Ukraines etc) so don't be surprised if a few of these do well in the tournament.

Super Heavyweight (9 Fighters)
9 fighters compete in this years Super Heavyweight bracket - up from 5 in the previous 2 years. No fighters in the draw has too much experience - the only fighters with victories under the IMMAF banner are South Africa's Delano Humas (2-1 MMA, 1-1 IMMAF) and Turkey's Tolga Polat (2-2 MMA, 1-1 IMMAF). Russia's Grigoriy Ponomarev is also one to look out for.
Prediction: Delano Human (South Africa)

Heavyweight (16 Fighters)
A solid number of 16 fighters compete for the heavyweight crown this year (up from 10 fighters last year). Irelands Ryan Spillane (5-8 MMA, 4-3 IMMAF) shocked the world earlier this year when he upset the field to become the European Champion, and among his victories was an impressive omoplata submission. He looks to build on that victory this year in a field full of debutants. Bartosz Zarczeniuk (7-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Poland brings an excellent record with 5 KO victories in his 7 wins. Lucas Kopal (3-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) brings an unbeaten 3-0 record with all 3 wins being finishes. There are also fighters from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyszstan & Azerbijan whose records are hard to find but that could be dangerous.
Prediction: Bartosz Zarczeniuk (Poland)

Light Heavyweight (21 Fighters)
A line up of 21 fighters compete in the light heavyweight tournament this year and with lots of the light heavyweight veterans turning pro, the field is wide open this year for a debutant to win. Russia's Ruslan Shidakov (15-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) brings the strongest record on paper to the table with 15 wins in 16 fights. Italy's Paulo Anastasi (11-5 MMA, 4-2 IMMAF) has made it to the semi finals of 2 previous IMMAF tournaments and will look to go a little better this year. Australia's Marc Grayson (2-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) has two 1st round submissions to his resume and is also one to watch.
Prediction: Ruslan Shidakov (Russia)

Middleweight (30 Fighters)
The middleweight bracket originally hada full bracket of 32 fighters but after a couple of pullouts this bracket goes ahead with 30 competitors. The favourite for me has to be 2018 European Champion Dario Bellandi (13-1 MMA, 8-1 IMMAF). Bellandi has won 8 of his 9 IMMAF fights and has finished 6 of these 9 fights. In addition to his European Championship victory he was also a close runner up in last years World Championships. Joseph Luciano (13-6 MMA, 10-3 IMMAF) will be a big contender to the tournament having won 3 dominant fights en route to winning the African Open earlier this year. Luciano has won an incredible 10 fights under the IMMAF banner and made it to the semi finals in last years tournament. Team UK's Christian Leroy Duncan (10-3 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF) is the only man to defeat the aforementioned Dario Bellandi. Duncan is extremely well rounded and is a finisher and is my pick to win this years middleweight tournament. Radu Zarioiu (6-1 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF) of Romania had an excellent run in this years European Championships winning 3 straight fights by TKO before getting submitted by Bellanti in the final. Other fighters looking to be in the mix are Jahmel Westcarr (3-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Team UK, Angelo Rivera Jr (10-5 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Team USA and Tunisia's Souhaib Dahmani (4-2 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF).
Prediction: Christian Leroy Duncan (UK)

Welterweight (31 Fighters)
Welterweight had a full bracket until a late pullout dropped the number to 31. On paper this is arguably my favourite division. After losing an agonising split decision in last year's World Championship final, 20 year old French prodigy Sola Axel (9-2 MMA, 7-1 IMMAF) bounced back to become the 2018 European Champion with 3 impressive victories. The man he defeated in the final is IMMAF veteran Isakov Issa (13-4 MMA, 8-3 IMMAF) who will be back looking to go one better this time. Belgian Isakov is one of the toughest fighters on the circuit and has won 8 of his 11 IMMAF fights, with the 3 losses all coming against future champions. Darian Weeks (14-3 MMA, 4-1 IMMAF) is one of team USA's top hopes for a World Champion at these championships - the 24 year old won the Oceana Open in March this year and an impressive 14 wins in his amateur career to date. Luxembourg's IMMAF veteran Yann Liasse (10-2 MMA, 3-2 IMMAF) was a semi finalist at this years European Championships and has won 3 of 5 fights under IMMAF and will be in the mix this year. Other fighters in the mix are undefeated Russian Evgeny Morozov (8-0 MMA, 0-0 iMMAF), Robin Roos (14-5 MMA, 1-1 IMMAF) of Sweden, Wales' Josh Hudson (8-3 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) and African Open champion Abbas Khan (6-3 MMA, 4-3 IMMAF) of Bahrain.
Prediction: Isakov Issa (Belgium)

Lightweight (32 Fighters)
In another full bracket, the favourite for the lightweight division has to be reigning European Champion Pavel Senchenko (5-1 MMA, 4-0 IMMAF) of Ukraine. In one of the most dominant performances in an IMMAF tournament Senchenko faced 4 excellent competitors with a combined record of 35-12 and blew through each of them comfortably with 1 TKO, 1 submission and 2 unanimous decisions. Arguably his biggest challenge will be submission specialist Lee Hammond (9-3 MMA, 6-2 IMMAF) of Ireland. Hammond has submitted 5 of the 6 opponents he has defeated in IMMAF and narrowly lost out on becoming the European Champion in 2016 by split decision. He has gone 2-0 since and is competing in IMMAF for the first time in 2 years. Another IMMAF veteran with a chance is Jose Teixeira (29-6 MMA, 6-3 IMMAF) of Luxemourg. Another submission expert, Teixeira has also submitted 5 of the 6 opponents he has defeated in IMMAF. He submitted 3 opponents en route to the semi finals in last year's World Championships where he was narrowly defeated by split decision. Experienced Estonian fighter Kaupo Kokamagi (18-4 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF) made an impression in the European Championships in June when he won his first 3 fights before he was defeated by eventual champion Pavel Senchenko. Bahrains own Shamil Gimbatov (3-1 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF) is the reigning African Open Champion and also put on a good performance in last year's World Championships and cannot be discounted. 11-fight IMMAF veteran Cristian Iorga (13-4 MMA, 7-4 IMMAF) is a 1x finalist and 2x semi finalist in IMMAF competitions and will surely be there or thereabouts again this time out. Austria's Bogdan Grad (11-5 MMA, 6-4 IMMAF) seems to improve with every tournament and will hope to go all the way this year. Other fighters to look out for in this bracket include Teruhiko Kato (5-0 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF), Iordan Marinov (6-2 MMA, 2-2 IMMAF), Francois Meyer (10-4 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF), Chris Price (8-2 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) and Irik Sabirov (6-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF)
Prediction: Pavel Senchenko (Ukraine)

Featherweight (32 Fighters)
A complete field of 32 fighters compete for the Featherweight crown and it is one of the most stacked brackets this year. Involved in this Featherweight are 4 former champions: Delyan Georgiev (15-0 MMA, 10-0 IMMAF), Abdulmanap Magomedov (10-2 MMA, 7-1 IMMAF), Eduard Kexel (8-2 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) & Amir Melekpour (6-0 MMA, 4-0 IMMAF). Delyan Georgiev of Bulgaria is one of the pound for pound most successful fighters in IMMAF history with a perfect 10-0 record for the promotion. He has won both of the tournaments he has entered and is both a World Champion and European Champion, beating some solid fighters along the way. Bahrains Abdulmanap Magomedov will have the advantage of fighting in his home country and he is a Asian Open Champion and 2x African Open Champion. His only defeat under the IMMAF banner came in last year's World Championship semi finals. 20 year old German prodigy Eduard Kexel is the reigning European Champion and he drops to featherweight as he looks to become World Champion. He looked extremely solid as he won 3 fights to win the June tournament. Sweden's undefeated Amir Melekpour is the reigning European Champion for this weight class after winning 4 fights in June's tournament, including a TKO victory in the final. 9-fight IMMAF veteran Hoger Salih (7-6 MMA, 6-3 IMMAF) is a 2x Semi Finalist in IMMAF competitions and he looks to go a little better this time out. Finland's Mici Saaristo (3-1 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) was the recepient of the TKO defeat in the European Championship final but looked impressive in the tournament up until that point. There are a lot of unknown quantity's entering the bracket this year with no prior IMMAF experience and some of those to keep an eye on are India's Imkongsunep Jamir (8-0), Japan's Daisuke Murayama (7-2), Portugal's Abdul Rahim Shaikh (4-0) and Czech Republic's Tim Ha (3-0).
Prediction: Amir Melekpour (Sweden)

Bantamweight (27 Fighters)
The Bantamweight division looks excellent this year and is wide open to many contenders with 7 or 8 guys in with a real chance of winning. The most experienced of the bunch is Sweden's Renato Vidovic (19-10 MMA, 8-5 IMMAF). Vidovic is a 2x European Champion and has won his last 3 IMMAF fights. Hometown favourite Hanza Zrira (6-4 MMA, 5-2 IMMAF) is a 2x Africa Open Champion and has finished his last 3 IMMAF fights. 20 year old American prodigy Sam Paneitz brings an excellent 11-0 record and is arguably the favourite to win this Bantanweight division. He is yet to compete in IMMAF but has picked up some solid wins in America and should make the step across comfortably. Carlos Veras (2-1 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) is one of the few Brazilians to compete in IMMAF and was hugely impressive in last years World Champuionships where he defeated the aforementioned Renato Vidovic en route to the semi finals. The 19 year old could very well go one better this year. Sharapudin Magomedov (11-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) was the final WMMAA European Champion before the organisation joined forces with IMMAF and he will be one of the favourites to win the title. Team UK's John James Young (8-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) brings an impressive record to the table and brings a 6 fight win streak and 3 fight submission streak and like Paneitz the transition over to IMMAF should be comfortable. Bulgaria;s Zdravko Dimitrov (2-1 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) walked through his first 2 opponents in this year's European Championships with 2 stoppage victories and was unfortunate to come out on the wrong end of a split decision to Renato Vidovic in the semi finals. Other ones to watch out for are Denislav Hadzhiev (11-2 MMA, 2-2 IMMAF) & Sho Shekihara (3-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF).
Prediction: Sam Paneitz (USA) / Sharapudin Magomedov (Russia)

Flyweight (26 Fighters)
For the flyweight division i see 3 main contenders: Sean Stebbins (10-1 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF), Oktay Arif (2-0 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF) & Junio Plaatjies (6-1 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF). American Sean Stebbins is a submission grappler who has built up an excellent 10-1 amateur record. He competed at last year's world championships and made it to the semi final where he lost a dubious split decision, but i think he will go better this year and is my favourite to win the bracket. One challenger will be current reigning European Champion Oktay Arif of Bulgaria. Arif won a reasonably small flyweight bracket in June but was still impressive as he won 2 dominant decisions. He is the only teenager competing in the senior flyweight division. The third fighter i see as a challenger is South African Julio Plaatjies. The submission fighter has built up a solid 6-1 record and won the African Open Championships in May.
Prediction: Sean Stebbins (USA)

Women's Lightweight (4 Fighters)
Only 4 fighters here and 2 fighters stand out for me. New Zealands Gase Sanita (4-1 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF) is the reigning champion at Featherwieght and became World Champion in 2017 with 2 good wins. She moves up to Lightweight for this tournament. Her main contender is likely to be Russia's undefeated prospect Polina Kobzeva (5-0) who is just 18 years old.
Prediction: Gase Sanita (New Zealand)

Women's Featherweight (6 Fighters)
A reasonably small field at Featherweight with 2 stand out contenders for me. Julia Dorny (7-5 MMA, 6-5 IMMAF) of Germany is the most experienced athlete in this field by far with 11 amateur fights under the IMMAF banner alone, winning 6 of these. Dorny lost in the final of the 2016 World Championships but went one better in June when she became European Champion. The other contender i am expecting is Finalnd's Jenni Kivioja (3-1 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF). Kivioja won 2 fights en route to the European Championship final, including an impressive head kick KO, but was defeated by the aforementioned Dorny in the final.
Prediction: Julia Dorny (Germany)

Women's Bantamweight (14 Fighters)
A solid field of 14 fighters compete in the Women's Bantamweight bracket, and one where i see 3 main contenders: Frida Vastamaki (3-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF), Amber Thompson (5-1 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF) & Fabiana Giampa (3-1 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF). Finland's Frida Vastamaki won the European Championships in June with 3 solid wins including an impressive TKO stoppage of former World Champion Joanne Doyle in the final. Fabiana Giampa of Italy is the reigning World Champion winning the 2017 World Championships with 3 victories. However she was handed a shock defeat in the first round of this year's European Championships and will look to bounce back here. Australia's Amber Thompson won the Oceana Championship in March with 2 stoppage victories. This will be a step up in competition for the Aussie.
Prediction: Frida Vastamaki (Finland)

Women's Flyweight (10 Fighters)
The main 3 contenders i see for the female Flyweight division are Alexandra Kovacs (8-1 MMA, 6-1 IMMAF), Janika Antinmaa (3-1 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) & Cassandra Le Roux (2-1 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF). Alexandra Kovacs of Hungary is one of the most successfull ladies to compete under the IMMAF banner - she is a 2x European Champion and has won 6 of her 7 IMMAF bouts. She will look to get her first World Championship here. In her way is reigning European Champion Janika Antinmaa of Finland. Antinmaa won the European Championship in June but will face a big step up in competition here. Finally South African Cassandra Le Roux won the 2018 African Open with a 70 second submission victory. Again this will be a big step up in competion though.
Prediction: Alexandra Kovacs (Hungary)

Women's Strawweight (12 Fighters)
A good 12 competitors compete for the Women's strawweight bracket however on paper it doesn't seem the strongest field. For me Sweden's Nina Back (3-1 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) will be the favourite - she made it to the final of this year's European Championships losing a decision in the final. Ukraine's Darina Samchik (3-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) may be a bit of a wildcard and Iceland's Ingibjorg Amborsdottir (1-1 MMA, 1-1 IMMAF) will be looking to go better than her previous best of a semi final too.
Prediction: Nina Back (Sweden)

Women's Atomweight (8 Fighters)
A newly created Women's Atomweight has a tournament for the first time and will containa respectable 8 woman bracket with decent quality. Jenna Horto of Finlad (2-0 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF) drops down 10 pounds as she looks to become the first Atomweight World Champion. Horto won the European Champiomships at 115 pounds in June with a 65 second TKO victory. Traditionally Indian fighters have a very poor record at these championships but India's Akshata Subhash brings an undefeated 7-0 record and could surprise people, and the women will want to avoid Ukraine's Oskana Pashkova (1-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) who is a dark horse.
Prediction: Jenna Horto (Finland)
 
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Junior World Championship Preview

Taking place the same time as the senior World Championships are the Junior World Championships. These are open to athletes aged between 18-20 and there are some very good turnouts this year with 16-man brackets for a few of the divisions.

Junior Heavyweight (4 Fighters)
Just 4 fighters compete in this weight class with the favourite being defending European Champion Trevor Makengo (2-1 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF) of Ireland. Among his opponents is Marcel Posthumus (5-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of South Africa who has put together a very good 5-1 record. The other 2 are athletes from Russia & Kazakhstan whose records are not available.
Prediction: Trevor Makengo (Ireland)

Junior Light Heavyweight (5 Fighters)
5 IMMAF debutants make up the Light Heavyweight bracket this year. Lukas Piffko (8-3) of Czech Republic has the best record with New Zealands Tipene Paranihi (2-0) and Russia's Igor Glazkov (1-0) also with undefeated records.
Prediction: Igor Glazkov (Russia)

Junior Middleweight (6 Fighters)
Just like the Light Heavyweight division, the Middleweight bracket is made up solely of IMMAF debutants. Ali Dalgatov (11-0) of Russia has the best record of these fighters by far and has to be the favourite to win. Lebanons George Saade (2-0) is also undefeated and could surprise.
Prediction: Ali Dalgatov (Russia)

Junior Welterweight (11 Fighters)
The welterweight division has 11 competitors and should be an excellent tournament. Roan Crocker (4-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) of Wales became European Champion in June with a submission in under 2 minutes in the final and is my pick to win this bracket. Jett Grande (7-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Canada brings an excellent 7-0 record and could be a contender just like Karel Ludvik (5-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Czech Republic. His compatriot Jan Fajk (13-4 MMA, 0-1 IMMAF) was dissappointing in last year's World Championship and will look to come back stronger this year. Paddy Wilkinson (3-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Ireland and Akos Denes (4-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Hungary also have strong records.
Prediction: Roan Crocker (Wales)

Junior Lightweight (13 Fighters)
Heading the lightweight bracket is IMMAF veteran Jakub Tichota (33-9 MMA, 3-2 IMMAF) of Czech Republic who has an incredible 42 amateur fights. He has won 3 of 5 fights in the IMMAF senior divisions including making the quarter finals in last years World Championship and having dropped to the junior division he has to be the one to watch. His compatriot Peter Gabal (9-2 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) is also one to watch with an impressive 9-2 record. The other 11 competitors are largely unknown quantities.
Prediction: Jakub Tichota (Czech Republic)

Junior Featherweight (17 Fighters)
An excellent 17 competitors makes up this exciting looking featherweight bracket. After a poor start to his career Eryk Walecki (3-3 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF) took the European Championship by storm in June winning 3 fights to take the title. Louis Lee Scott (9-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Team UK has an impressive undefeated record and has stopped 7 of his 9 opponents. Elbek Alyshov (8-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Russia also comes with an excellent record on paper. Irelands Alexander O'Sullivan (13-6 MMA, 2-1 IMMAF) made it to the quarter finals of last years senior World Championship and will be hoping to do well here. Other fighters with promising looking records are Mexico's Hector Granados (6-2 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) and Canada's Albaraa Atmeh (4-1 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF).
Prediction: Louis Lee Scott (UK)

Junior Bantamweight (16 Fighters)
Another great field compete this junior bantamweight bracket. Reo Yamaguchi (6-1 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF) is the reigning Oceana Open Champion and will arguably start as the favourite. Muhammad Mokaev (7-0 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) who is of Russian descent but representing team UK has an excellent undefeated record. Mokaev has beaten some excellent fighters on the English amateur scene and is definately my pick for this tournament. The 2 fighters from Russia and the 2 from Kazakhstan are also ones to watch.
Prediction: Muhammad Mokaev (UK)

Junior Flyweight (6 Fighters)
Only 6 fighters compete in the Flyweight division and all 6 are IMMAF debutants. My pick is Ireland's undefeated fighter Ger Harris (4-0) who has competed for Cage Warriors and won all 4 of his fights by stoppage. Dayan Alape (5-1) of Colombia also brings a good record as does Gani Adilserik (1-0) of Kazakhstan.
Prediction: Ger Harris (Ireland)

Junior Strawweight (5 Fighters)
In this strawweight division the 2 Indian competitors bring the best records Mahboob Mohammed (12-5) & Yash Chandwal (7-2), however i would side with the Bulgarian Radostin Angelov, who is making his debut however Bulgaria have an excellent record in these championships.
Prediction: Radostin Angelov (Bulgaria)

Female Flyweight (4 Fighters)
The Flyweight division is the only division in this year's Junior World Championships with enough competitors to host a tournament. Anna Gaul (1-0 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF) of Germany won the European Championships earlier this year and is the favourite to do the same at the Worlds. Her toughest test wil llikely be Megan Morris (3-2 MMA, 0-0 IMMAF) of Team UK.
Prediction: Anna Gaul (Germany)
 
I definitely appreciate the effort put into this thread. I'm not sure how much I'll watch of IMMAF this year, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for a few of the fighters you've named.

A fighter that could be a big favourite this year and that's Muhammad Mokaev for team UK. He's only 19 years old, 7-0 as an amateur, and is originally born in Dagestan. The kid seems to have great wrestling and is definitely one to look out for. He's competing at 135lbs I believe.

Edit: As I was writing this I see you've put him up for the juniors. For some reason I thought he was in the senior competition.
 
The draw has been made and it has thrown up some excellent fights in the round of 32 which takes place today.

A couple of my favourites include at Bantamweight where USA's undefeated Sam Panietz (11-0 mma, 0-0 immaf) takes on one of UK's bet hopes for a medal John James Young (8-1 mma,0-0 inmaf).

Also at featherweight 2 European Chanpions collide when reigning Featherweight Champion Amir Melekpour (6-0 mma, 4-0 immaf) takes on reigning Lightweight Champion Eduard Kexel (8-2 mma, 3-0 immaf).

Other tasty fights include Yann Liasse (10-2 mma, 3-2 immaf) vs Evgeny Morozov (8-0 mma, 0-0 immaf) at welterweight, Chris Price (8-2 mma, 0-0 immaf) vs Iorga Cristian (13-4 mma, 7-4 immaf) at lightweight, Daniele Matdidi (8-3 mma, 1-3 immaf) vs Angelo Rivera Jr (10-5 mma, 0-0 immaf) at Middleweight and Abdulmanap Magomedov (10-2 mma, 7-1 immaf) vs Abdul Rahim Shaikh (4-0 mma, 0-0 immaf) at Featherweight.
 
So a little recap of my favourite fights of day 1...

Unfortunately John James Young failed a pre fight medical so Sam Panietz recieved a bye to the last 16. Europen Lightweight Champion Eduard Kexel stunned Fatherweight Champion Amir Melekpour with a 2nd round guillotine choke. Yann Liasse won a comfortable decision over enbeaten Russian Evgeny Morozov. Iorga Cristian scored a brutal knockout over Chris Price. Angelo Rivera Jr won a dominant decision over Daniele Matdidi. And Abdulmanap Magomedov won after Abdul Shaikh retired on his stool after the 1st round.


Today the heavyweight division, womens divisions and junior divisions all kick off. Here are my favourite 5 fights from the round of 16:
1) Welterweight: Sola Axel [Fra] (9-2 MMA) (7-1 IMMAF) vs. Yann Liasse [Lux] (11-2 MMA) (4-2 IMMAF)
Reigning European Champion Sola Axel of France has his first fight of the tournament when he takes on veteran Yann Liasse. Liasse is coming off an excellent win over undefeated Russian Morozov yesterday but things don't get any easier here.
Prediction: Axel via Unanimous Decision

2) Lightweight: Pavel Senchenko [Ukr] (6-1 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF) vs. Jose Teixeira [Lux] (30-6 MMA) (7-3 IMMAF)
Another fight in which a reigning European Champion takes on an experienced fighter from the Luxembourg. This is a classic striker vs grappler fight. Senchenko won his first fight with a 27 second TKO and Teixeira won his fight by submission. This is a rematch of the European Championship quarter final earlier this year which Senchenko won via TKO.
Prediction: Senchenko via Unanimous Decision

3) Bantamweight: Charles Paneitz [Usa] (11-0 MMA) (0-0 IMMAF) vs. Carlos Vera [Bra] (5-1 MMA) (3-1 IMMAF)
Arguably my favourite fight of the last 16, undefeated American westler will finally take to the mat against Brazilian Grappler Carlos Vera. The Brazilian had a good run in last eyars World Championships and kicked off his tournament with a submission win, and Paneitz is arguably America's best hope of a gold medal.
Prediction: Paneitz via Unanimous Decision

4) Lightweight: Shamil Gimbatov [Bah] (3-1 MMA) (3-1 IMMAF) vs. Iorga Cristian [Rom] (14-4 MMA) (8-4 IMMAF)
At lightweight African Open champion Gimbatov competes in front of his home crowd against experienced Cristian. Gimbatov made it through to the last 16 after his opponent was disqualified in the first round. Cristian made it through with a brutal KO.
Prediction: Cristian via Split Decision

5) Heavyweight: Bartosz Zaczeniuk [Pol] (7-1 MMA) (0-0 IMMAF) vs. Marek Zak [Cze] (5-2 MMA) (0-0 IMMAF)
Two of the favourites for the heavyweight crown have been drawn together in this last 16 clash. Feared striker Zaczeniuk is my pick to win the tournament and this is an excellent test for him.
Prediction: Zaczeniuk via 2nd rd TKO
 
You should check out Andreas Berg, the middleweight from Sweden. It's his first championship, but he's been steamrolling competition before getting here. Undefeated wrestler with great power. I think he can take home the gold.
 
You should check out Andreas Berg, the middleweight from Sweden. It's his first championship, but he's been steamrolling competition before getting here. Undefeated wrestler with great power. I think he can take home the gold.

Yea i missed him to be honest, just been finding out about him and he looks good. He's fighting Christian Leroy Duncan of the UK in the quarter finals tomorrow who was my pick to win the tournament so that should be a great fight.
 
Looking forward to Lee Hammond v Pavel Senchenko tomorrow. That could really be a finals matchup.

Team UK ain't doing that great at the moment, but we've still got guys in like Mokaev, Lee Scott, and Leroy Duncan in so I'm not too worried.

Other fighters I've been pretty impressed with are Tim Ha, Delyan Georgiev, and Eduard Kexel.
 
Looking forward to Lee Hammond v Pavel Senchenko tomorrow. That could really be a finals matchup.

Team UK ain't doing that great at the moment, but we've still got guys in like Mokaev, Lee Scott, and Leroy Duncan in so I'm not too worried.

Other fighters I've been pretty impressed with are Tim Ha, Delyan Georgiev, and Eduard Kexel.

Yea i agree Senchenko & Hammond were my top 2 seeds for the LW bracket, can't wait for that one. Got a sneaky feeling Hammond may pull off the submission. ]

Eduard Kexel has massively impressed me too, 2 submissions over 2 excellent opponents. Abdulmanap Magomedov looks very good too, a couple of TKO wins over 2 guys with good records. Another is Dzhamal Medzhidov in the Middleweight division - he was one of the many eastern europeans i couldn't find any information about, but he has beaten 2 solid guys by TKO & a 30-27 decision.
 
Last 16 round up
It was a bad day for team USA as 2 of their big medal hopes Darian Weeks & Charles Paneitz were both eliminated. Carlos Veras won a close decision over Panietz and Weeks was upset by hometown favourite Guseinov. In other big fights Sola Axel defeated Yann Liasse, Pavel Senchenko defeated Jose Teixeira, Shamil Gimbatov beat Iorga Cristian, Eduard Kexel beat Mici Saaristo and Bartosz Zaczeniuk beat Marek Zak.

Best fights of the Quarter Finals
We are getting towards the business end of the tournament and there are some extremely tasty fights now. The 2 fights that stand out as being the star fights of tomorrow are:
1) Lightweight: Pavel Senchenko [Ukr] (7-1 MMA) (6-0 IMMAF) vs. Lee Hammond [Ire] (11-3 MMA) (8-2 IMMAF)
2) Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan [Uk] (12-3 MMA, 5-1 IMMAF) vs. Andreas Berg [Swe] (7-0 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF)
These are extremely hard to decide - if you put a gun to my head i would say Hammond via submission and Duncan via decision.

Some other excellent quarter final fights for tomorrow:
Welterweight: Isakov Issa [Bel] (15-4 MMA, 10-3 IMMAF) vs. Islam Bagomedov [Rus] (2-0 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF)
Lightweight: Kaupo Kokamagi [Fin] (20-4 MMA) (5-1 IMMAF) vs. Teruhiko Kato [Jap] (7-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Featherweight: Abdulmanap Magomedov [Bah] (12-2 MMA) (9-1 IMMAF) vs. Daisuke Murayama [Jap] (9-2 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Welterweight: Sola Axel [Fra] (10-2 MMA, 8-1 IMMAF) vs. Robin Roos [Swe] (16-5 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Sharapudin Magomedov [Rus] (12-1 MMA, 1-0 IMMAF) vs. Hamza Zrira [Bah] (7-4 MMA, 6-2 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Carlos Veras [Bra] (6-1 MMA, 4-1 IMMAF) vs. Zdravko Dimitrov [Bul] (3-1 MMA, 3-1 IMMAF)
Flyweight: Oktay Arif [Bul] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) vs. Ruslan atiev [Rus] (3-0 MMA, 2-0 IMMAF)
 
So Louis Lee Scott, Charlotte Brown, Marie Spencer, Levi Steedman, Charlie Falco, and Christian Leroy Duncan all got eliminated today. Not looking good for team UK.

Lee Hammond beats Senchenko via split decision too so there's a favourite gone from the lightweight division, however there's still guys like Jett Grande that he'd need to get past.

That featherweight division is looking tough too with Eduard Kexel, Delyan Georgiev, and Abdulmanap Magomed still in it.
 
Thanks for the info
I always enjoy your threads

A few weeks ago I was actually reading about previous winners and runners up, a lot of guys on UFC/Bellator already
 
So Louis Lee Scott, Charlotte Brown, Marie Spencer, Levi Steedman, Charlie Falco, and Christian Leroy Duncan all got eliminated today. Not looking good for team UK.

Lee Hammond beats Senchenko via split decision too so there's a favourite gone from the lightweight division, however there's still guys like Jett Grande that he'd need to get past.

That featherweight division is looking tough too with Eduard Kexel, Delyan Georgiev, and Abdulmanap Magomed still in it.

Yea Hammond-Senchenko was a coin toss. Jett Grande is in the junior division. I think Hammond is the big favourite now to win the LW division.

Yea the featherweight division has the best final 4 by far. Eduard Kexel looks great, 3rd straight stoppage. He has a big swollen black eye so i hope he doesn't get ruled out for medical reasons or anything.

Some great fights tomorrow - my favourites are Eduard Kexel - Abdulmanap Magomedov (FW), Joseph Luciano - Andreas Berg (MW), Carlos Veras - Sharapudin Magomedov (BW) and Ryan Spillane - Bartosz Zaczeniuk (HW).

In the junior division Muhammad Mokaev has a tough semi final fight against the Mexican Ismael Zamora - he has finished both his fights comfortably so far so that should be good.


I've put together a little spreadsheet showing the semi finalists of all the divisions (except ones with barely any entrants like strawweight, womens lightweight etc) showing the 4 semi finalists and who they have defeated so far and how they have won. Please click the below pictures to make them bigger.
1)
2)
 
Another great day of fights today. Tomorrow there is a recovery day and then the finals are on Saturday.

The finals for each weight division are as follows:
Super Heavyweight: Grigoriy Ponomarev [Rus] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Pasha Kharkhachaev [Bah] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Heavyweight: Ryan Spillane [Ire] (8-8 MMA) (7-3 IMMAF) vs. Chaddad Alexandre [Leb] (6-2 MMA) (3-2 IMMAF)
Light Heavyweight: Ruslan Shidakov [Rus] (18-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Shakhrudinov [Rus] (6-3 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Middleweight: Andreas Berg [Swe] (9-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Dzhamal Medzhidov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Welterweight: Sola Axel [Fra] (12-2 MMA) (10-1 IMMAF) vs. Islam Bagomedov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Lightweight: Lee Hammond [Ire] (12-3 MMA) (9-2 IMMAF) vs. Marko Sarasjarvi [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF)
Featherweight: Delyan Georgiev [Bul] (19-0 MMA) (14-0 IMMAF) vs. Eduard Kexel [Ger] (12-2 MMA) (7-0 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Sharapudin Magomedov [Rus] (14-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Idrisov [Bah] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Flyweight: Ruslan Satiev [Rus] (5-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Mohammed Almuamari [Bah] (4-2 MMA) (4-2 IMMAF)
Strawweight: Roman Syrkin [Ukr] (5-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Baghdat Zhubanysh [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)

Womens Lightweight: Gase Sanita [Nze] (5-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Polina Kobzeva [Rus] (6-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Womens Featherweight: Julia Dorny [Ger] (8-5 MMA) (7-5 IMMAF) vs. Jenni Kivioja [Fin] (4-1 MMA) (3-1 IMMAF)
Womens Bantamweight: LaNeisha Vinson [Usa] (7-4 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Bulgaru Mihaela [Rom] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Flyweight: Alexandra Kovacs [Hun] (10-1 MMA) (8-1 IMMAF) vs. Janika Antinmaa [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Womens Strawweight: Nina Back [Swe] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF) vs. Daria Samchik [Ukr] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Atomweight: Oksana Pashkova [Ukr] (3-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Raluca Dinescu [Rom] (5-5 MMA) (4-5 IMMAF)

Junior Heavyweight: Trevor Makenko [Ire] (3-1 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamsutdin Makhmudov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Light Heavyweight: Lukas Piffko [Cze] (10-3 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Igor Glazkov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Middleweight: Ali Dalgatov [Rus] (12-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomedkhabib Umarov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Welterweight: Jett Grande [Can] (10-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) vs. Paddy Wilkinson [Ire] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Junior Lightweight: Peter Gabal [Cze] (11-2 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Reziuan Khotov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Featherweight: Elbek Alyshov [Rus] (11-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Miras Kazhimuratov [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Bantamweight: Muhammad Mokaev [Uk] (10-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Reo Yamaguchi [Jap] (9-1 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Flyweight: Ger Harris [Ire] (5-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamil Bahachaliev [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Strawweight: Mahboob Khan Mohammed [Ind] (13-5 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Ebrahim Darwich [Bah] (3-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Womens Flyweight: Megan Morris [Uk] (4-2 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Manar Alhayki [Bah] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
 
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Another great day of fights today. Tomorrow there is a recovery day and then the finals are on Saturday.

The finals for each weight division are as follows:
Super Heavyweight: Grigoriy Ponomarev [Rus] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Pasha Kharkhachaev [Bah] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Heavyweight: Ryan Spillane [Ire] (8-8 MMA) (7-3 IMMAF) vs. Chaddad Alexandre [Leb] (6-2 MMA) (3-2 IMMAF)
Light Heavyweight: Ruslan Shidakov [Rus] (18-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Shakhrudinov [Rus] (6-3 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Middleweight: Andreas Berg [Swe] (9-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Dzhamal Medzhidov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Welterweight: Sola Axel [Fra] (12-2 MMA) (10-1 IMMAF) vs. Islam Bagomedov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Lightweight: Lee Hammond [Ire] (12-3 MMA) (9-2 IMMAF) vs. Marko Sarasjarvi [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF)
Featherweight: Delyan Georgiev [Bul] (19-0 MMA) (14-0 IMMAF) vs. Eduard Kexel [Ger] (12-2 MMA) (7-0 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Sharapudin Magomedov [Rus] (14-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Idrisov [Bah] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Flyweight: Ruslan Satiev [Rus] (5-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Mohammed Almuamari [Bah] (4-2 MMA) (4-2 IMMAF)
Strawweight: Roman Syrkin [Ukr] (5-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Baghdat Zhubanysh [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)

Womens Lightweight: Gase Sanita [Nze] (5-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Polina Kobzeva [Rus] (6-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Womens Featherweight: Julia Dorny [Ger] (8-5 MMA) (7-5 IMMAF) vs. Jenni Kivioja [Fin] (4-1 MMA) (3-1 IMMAF)
Womens Bantamweight: LaNeisha Vinson [Usa] (7-4 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Bulgaru Mihaela [Rom] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Flyweight: Alexandra Kovacs [Hun] (10-1 MMA) (8-1 IMMAF) vs. Janika Antinmaa [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Womens Strawweight: Nina Back [Swe] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF) vs. Daria Samchik [Ukr] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Atomweight: Oksana Pashkova [Ukr] (3-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Raluca Dinescu [Rom] (5-5 MMA) (4-5 IMMAF)

Junior Heavyweight: Trevor Makenko [Ire] (3-1 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamsutdin Makhmudov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Light Heavyweight: Lukas Piffko [Cze] (10-3 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Igor Glazkov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Middleweight: Ali Dalgatov [Rus] (12-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomedkhabib Umarov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Welterweight: Jett Grande [Can] (10-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) vs. Paddy Wilkinson [Ire] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Junior Lightweight: Peter Gabal [Cze] (11-2 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Reziuan Khotov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Featherweight: Elbek Alyshov [Rus] (11-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Miras Kazhimuratov [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Bantamweight: Muhammad Mokaev [Uk] (10-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Reo Yamaguchi [Jap] (9-1 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Flyweight: Ger Harris [Ire] (5-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamil Bahachaliev [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Strawweight: Mahboob Khan Mohammed [Ind] (13-5 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Ebrahim Darwich [Bah] (3-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Womens Flyweight: Megan Morris [Uk] (4-2 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Manar Alhayki [Bah] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Predictions for me are:

Junior Women's Flyweight - Morris
Junior Strawweight - Mohammed
Junior Flyweight - Bahachaliev
Junior Bantamweight - Mokaev
Junior Featherweight - Alyshov
Junior Lightweight - Gabal
Junior Welterweight - Grande
Junior Middleweight - Dalgatov
Junior Light Heavyweight - Piffko
Junior Heavyweight - Makhmudov

Women's Atomweight - Pashkova
Women's Strawweight - Samchik
Women's Flyweighy - Kovaks
Women's Bantamweight - Vinson
Women's Featherweight - Kivioja
Women's Lightweight - Kobzeva

Strawweight - Syrkin
Flyweight - Satiev
Bantamweight - Magomedov
Featherweight - Kexel
Lightweight - Hammond
Welterweight - Axel
Middleweight - Berg
Light Heavyweight - Shidakov
Heavyweight - Spillane
Super Heavyweight - Ponomarev
 
Another great day of fights today. Tomorrow there is a recovery day and then the finals are on Saturday.

The finals for each weight division are as follows:
Super Heavyweight: Grigoriy Ponomarev [Rus] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Pasha Kharkhachaev [Bah] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Heavyweight: Ryan Spillane [Ire] (8-8 MMA) (7-3 IMMAF) vs. Chaddad Alexandre [Leb] (6-2 MMA) (3-2 IMMAF)
Light Heavyweight: Ruslan Shidakov [Rus] (18-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Shakhrudinov [Rus] (6-3 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Middleweight: Andreas Berg [Swe] (9-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Dzhamal Medzhidov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Welterweight: Sola Axel [Fra] (12-2 MMA) (10-1 IMMAF) vs. Islam Bagomedov [Rus] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Lightweight: Lee Hammond [Ire] (12-3 MMA) (9-2 IMMAF) vs. Marko Sarasjarvi [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF)
Featherweight: Delyan Georgiev [Bul] (19-0 MMA) (14-0 IMMAF) vs. Eduard Kexel [Ger] (12-2 MMA) (7-0 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Sharapudin Magomedov [Rus] (14-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomed Idrisov [Bah] (4-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Flyweight: Ruslan Satiev [Rus] (5-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF) vs. Mohammed Almuamari [Bah] (4-2 MMA) (4-2 IMMAF)
Strawweight: Roman Syrkin [Ukr] (5-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Baghdat Zhubanysh [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)

Womens Lightweight: Gase Sanita [Nze] (5-1 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Polina Kobzeva [Rus] (6-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Womens Featherweight: Julia Dorny [Ger] (8-5 MMA) (7-5 IMMAF) vs. Jenni Kivioja [Fin] (4-1 MMA) (3-1 IMMAF)
Womens Bantamweight: LaNeisha Vinson [Usa] (7-4 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Bulgaru Mihaela [Rom] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Flyweight: Alexandra Kovacs [Hun] (10-1 MMA) (8-1 IMMAF) vs. Janika Antinmaa [Fin] (5-1 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Womens Strawweight: Nina Back [Swe] (5-1 MMA) (4-1 IMMAF) vs. Daria Samchik [Ukr] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Womens Atomweight: Oksana Pashkova [Ukr] (3-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Raluca Dinescu [Rom] (5-5 MMA) (4-5 IMMAF)

Junior Heavyweight: Trevor Makenko [Ire] (3-1 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamsutdin Makhmudov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Light Heavyweight: Lukas Piffko [Cze] (10-3 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Igor Glazkov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Middleweight: Ali Dalgatov [Rus] (12-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Magomedkhabib Umarov [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Welterweight: Jett Grande [Can] (10-0 MMA, 3-0 IMMAF) vs. Paddy Wilkinson [Ire] (6-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Junior Lightweight: Peter Gabal [Cze] (11-2 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF) vs. Reziuan Khotov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Featherweight: Elbek Alyshov [Rus] (11-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Miras Kazhimuratov [Kaz] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Bantamweight: Muhammad Mokaev [Uk] (10-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF) vs. Reo Yamaguchi [Jap] (9-1 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Flyweight: Ger Harris [Ire] (5-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Shamil Bahachaliev [Rus] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Strawweight: Mahboob Khan Mohammed [Ind] (13-5 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Ebrahim Darwich [Bah] (3-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)
Junior Womens Flyweight: Megan Morris [Uk] (4-2 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF) vs. Manar Alhayki [Bah] (1-0 MMA) (1-0 IMMAF)

Marko sarasjärvi is from the gym i train at.funny guy lol

Also the guy who was in finnish heavyweight category was my opponent in my first mma fight(which i lost on points though)
 
Thanks for the break down, great thread here. IMMAF tournaments are going from strength to strength and delivering more and more new talent.

It was pretty big for me to see Luciano go down to the Swede in the MW semis, guy has been on a great run as of late. Also surprised to see Darian Weeks lose early on, was looking at him as a favourite along with Axel. Didn't realise Axel was so young, he has a bright future, I remember watching him in last years final against Benjamin Bennet, he put up a great battle.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch as much as I'd like but from what I have been able to see in the two free to air cages, the competition has stepped up again. Some young beasts are coming through and there seems to be less old heads. I am yet to see Eduard Kexel in action but I was expecting to see Abdulnamap challenging Georgiev in the FW final, so he must be a beast. Pulling for Delyan to claim back to back titles though.

Looking forward to the finals!!


Thanks gain for the thread and bringing some attention to the amateur format, which will hopefully be a big deal in a few years time and maybe even in the Olympics. Haha, here's to hoping...
 
A little bit late but I have been very busy this week.

The finals have taken place and the big winners are Team Russia who took home gold in an incredible 10 of the 18 men's weight classes (over senior & junior). This is the first year they have entered a proper team due to the WMMAA & IMMAF merger, and they definitely seem to be the country to beat in amateur MMA.

The winners for each weight class are:
Super Heavyweight: Pasha Kharkhachaev [Bah] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Heavyweight: Ryan Spillane [Ire] (8-8 MMA) (7-3 IMMAF)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Shakhrudinov [Rus] (7-3 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Middleweight: Dzhamal Medzhidov [Rus] (5-0 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Welterweight: slam Bagomedov [Rus] (5-0 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Lightweight: Lee Hammond [Ire] (13-3 MMA) (10-2 IMMAF)
Featherweight: Delyan Georgiev [Bul] (20-0 MMA) (15-0 IMMAF)
Bantamweight: Sharapudin Magomedov [Rus] (15-1 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Flyweight: Ruslan Satiev [Rus] (6-0 MMA) (5-0 IMMAF)
Strawweight: Baghdat Zhubanysh [Kaz] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)

Womens Lightweight: Gase Sanita [Nze] (6-1 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Womens Featherweight: Julia Dorny [Ger] (9-5 MMA) (8-5 IMMAF)
Womens Bantamweight: LaNeisha Vinson [Usa] (8-4 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Womens Flyweight: Alexandra Kovacs [Hun] (11-1 MMA) (9-1 IMMAF)
Womens Strawweight: Daria Samchik [Ukr] (7-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Womens Atomweight: Raluca Dinescu [Rom] (6-5 MMA) (5-5 IMMAF)

Junior Heavyweight: Shamsutdin Makhmudov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Light Heavyweight: Igor Glazkov [Rus] (230 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Middleweight: Magomedkhabib Umarov [Rus] (2-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Welterweight: Jett Grande [Can] (11-0 MMA, 4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Lightweight: Reziuan Khotov [Rus] (3-0 MMA) (3-0 IMMAF)
Junior Featherweight: Elbek Alyshov [Rus] (12-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Bantamweight: Muhammad Mokaev [Uk] (11-0 MMA) (4-0 IMMAF)
Junior Flyweight: Ger Harris [Ire] (6-0 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Strawweight: Mahboob Khan Mohammed [Ind] (14-5 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)
Junior Womens Flyweight: Megan Morris [Uk] (5-2 MMA) (2-0 IMMAF)


It has been a breakout year for some new stars and a continued success for others. Delyan Georgiev took home his 3rd straight IMMAF gold medal and is now an incredible 15-0 for the promotion. Surely he has to follow in his fellow IMMAF compatriots Ferdun Osmanov & Nikolay Nikolov and turn pro now. Also in the women's division Alexandra Kovacs also won her 3rd IMMAF gold medal and improved to 9-1 for the promotion.

My 5 breakout stars from this year's World Championships are as follows (in no particular order):
Eduard Kexel (FW)
The 20 year old German was coming off the back of a gold medal at the Junior European Championships and made the jump to the senior level with ease. After submitting fellow gold medalist Amir Melekpour in the first round he picket up 2 more stoppage victories before upsetting ome favourite Abdulmanap Magomedov in the semi finals. In the final he was narrowly defeated via split decision by IMMAF poster boy Delyan Georgiev. Kexel looks a super prospect at 20 years old.

Muhammad Mokaev (Jnr BW)
The 18 year old Russian-turned-Briton had a bit of hype leading into the tournament with an undefeated 7-0 record and he leaves the tournament 11-0 after 4 comfortable victories. Mokaev didn't lose a round all tournament - after winning his last 16 fight via submission he won his other 3 fights 30-27 including a dominant victory over Japanese prospect Reo Yamaguchi (9-1) in the final.

Islam Bagomedov (WW)
The 19 year old Russian was a bit of an unknown going into the tournament but quickly but the field on notice with a TKO victory over Josh Hudson (8-3) in the first round. In the quarter finals he won a dominant decision over tough IMMAF veteran Isakov Issa (15-4) and in the finals he defeated another veteran and last year's finalist Sola Axel (12-2) via unanimous decision. At just 19 years old Bagomedov seems like a super prospect.

Dzhamal Medzhidov (MW)
Another Russian, the 24 year old was another unknown at the start of the tournament put himself on the amateur map with 4 dominant performances in the middleweight division. After kicking off his tournament with 30-27's across the board against Florian Aberger (10-4) he then stopped Radu Zarioiu (6-1) with a TKO. In the semi finals Medzhidov pulled off a superb victory by stopping former world champion Dario Bellandi (15-1) with another TKO. In the final he won the battle of top prospects by wining the first 2 rounds en route to 29-28 decision victory over Andreas Berg.

Jett Grande (Jnr WW)
Another from the junior division, 20 year old Canadian Jett Grande came into the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. He won 4 dominant decisions en route to winning the welterweight tournament and now finds himself 11-0.In the final he won a very close decision over fellow unbeaten fighter Paddy Wilkinson (6-0) of Ireland.



I loved this tournament - unfortunately I didn't get to watch much of it but hopefully they put some of it up on demand as there are some fights I would love to watch and some fighters I would love to scout.
 
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