European Notes from Iberia to Siberia
The latest edition of Sherdog.com's column on the European fight
scene takes a look back at recent action in France and Finland. We
also bring you updates from Germany and the Netherlands. To round
things out we have all the latest news on a popular fight show in
Slovenia you should really keep an eye on.
French elite in action
With mixed martial arts still banned in France, the country's elite fighters got together for another night of submission fighting in Paris two weeks ago.
ADCC European Qualification Winner Nicolas Rénier was victorious, as was PRIDE Bushido veteran Grégory Bouchelaghem. In a "Pancrase" super fight ("Pancrase" is the French name for amateur MMA) CageWarriors-experienced Boris Jonstomp took care of Shooto vet Laurent Bonafoux with a first round choke.
Bouchelaghem must have liked what he saw as he challenged undefeated submission artist Karl Amoussou to a future "Pancrase" bout.
Results:
Absolute Submission Fighting 2
April 7, 2007
Paris, France
Grappling:
Nicolas Rénier def. Mickael Tozalgan Dec.
Jonathan Gonzalez def. Nayeb Hezam Dec.
Antony Rode def. Cyril Rousseau submission (kneebar)
Mathieu Husson def. Samuel Judes Dec.
Patrick de Caro def. Hugo Février Dec.
Casimir Bendy def. Karim Radwan submission (guillotine choke)
Laurence Cousin def. Sophie Lamothe submission (Kimura)
Vincent Parisi def. Amar submission (Kimura)
Grégory Bouchelaghem def. Francis Carmont Dec.
Pierre Pilat def. Nicolas Gregoriades Dec.
Paco Lakebir def. David Pierre Louis Dec.
Pancrase Super Fight
Boris Jonstomp def. Laurent Bonafoux submission (choke) R1
Who is the new Joachim Hansen (Pictures)?
That is the question Finnish promotion "Nordic Fight Sports" were trying to answer with their seventh edition of their successful event series "The Cage."
To determine a worthy winner, they pitted four welterweight competitors against each other in a one night "Neo Blood" tournament. Local fighter Wasim Ul Masih from "Riihimäen Heracles" in Finland took the crown by beating Swede Fredrik Klingsell and countryman Jasse Junkkari, choking out both opponents in the first round.
In the main event Toni Valtonen, a teammate of European standout Mikko Rupponen, defeated CageWarriors veteran Miika Mehmet by unanimous decision.
Last minute changes for big German events
There have been a couple of last minute changes to three big German events this weekend. The four-man middleweight tournament at the Masters Fight Night in Cologne will see Dutchman John de Wilde fill in for Andre Walberer. The Franconian grappler suffered a sprained cervical vertebra in training.
Also bitten by the cancellation bug has been the Stapel Fighting Challenge, which runs its debut event at the Hessenhalle in Gießen. After being heavily knocked out at the "Art of War" show in Dallas, Danish striker Kenneth Rosfort pulled out of the co-main event against German grappler Daniel Weichel. Fatih Balci, a German Vale Tudo fighter of Turkish origin, will replace Rosfort.
The lord sometimes works in mysterious ways, that's why heavyweight hopeful Norman Jendrejczjk will not compete in the FFC "Big Bad Boyz" tournament but instead defend world peace on a military deployment abroad.
Jendrejczjk, a staff sub-officer for the German Bundeswehr, will join troops from Canada, Spain, Italy and the United States in Afghanistan. His replacement in the tournament is no slouch, as K-1 HERO'S vet Tadas Rinkevicius has taken his spot.
Who's No. 1?
It is generally accepted that the USA has the strongest wrestlers while the best jiu-jitsu fighters come from Brazil. The dominance in kickboxing remains hotly contested however.
While the Netherlands have traditionally ruled the K-1 ring, Thailand, the mother country of Muay Thai, has dominated the lower weight classes up to 70 kilos. Now those two stand-up powerhouses will clash for the third time in the Dutch city of Haarlem at Slamm's "Nederland vs. Thailand 3" show.
The card reads like a "who is who" of kickboxing and Muay Thai. Among the biggest names are former K-1 World MAX champion Andy Souwer (Pictures), world class talent Tyrone Spong, Mighty Mo's nightmare Kaoklai Kaennorsing, PRIDE veteran Brian Lo-A-Njoe (Pictures) and arguably the strongest stand-up fighter in the game today: Buakaw Por. Pramuk.
Complete lineup:
(Muay Thai)
Najim Ethouali vs. Jan van Denderen
Germaine de Randamie vs. Maria Verheyen
Andy Souwer (Pictures) vs. Joeri Mes
Jimmy Eimers vs. Hansuk Wor Petchpun
Ray Staring vs. Samranchai 96Penang
Tyrone Spong vs. Suriya Sor Ploenchit
Fikri Tijarti vs. Orono Wor Petchpun
Vincent Vielvoye vs. Kaoklai Kaennorsing
Faldir Chahbari vs. Buakaw Por. Pramuk
Hassan Aitbassou vs. Anuwat Kaewsamrit
Roger Pinas vs. Sharlimar Zimmerman
Krista Fleming vs. Chajmaa Bellakhal
Anthony Kane vs. Nick Beljaards
(MMA)
Brian Lo-A-Njoe (Pictures) vs. Cengiz Dana
Dave Dagliesh vs. Goran Reljic
Romano de los Reyes vs. Reza Madadi
Drwal vs. Rupponen for the unofficial European Championship
Poland's Tomasz Drwal (13-1-0) and Mikko Rupponen (16-4-2) from Finland, arguably the two strongest light heavyweights still plying their trade in Europe, will finally get it on at the third "World Freefight Challenge" in Slovenia.
Koper, the little seaport in Slovenia which already played host to many Brazilian stars like Edson Draggo, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons last year, has not been the best of places for the Finnish knockout artist.
In his fight against Dutchman Rodney Faverus the 29-year-old broke his hand and was out of action for six months. Also on the card will be Englishman James McSweeney (Pictures) in a K-1 rules bout against huge Croatian slugger Domagoj "Buco" Ostojic, as well as Italy-based BJJ black belt Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures) taking on Lithuanian K-1 HERO'S veteran Mindaugas Smirnovas (Pictures) for the second time in two months.
Complete lineup:
(K-1 Rules)
Dejan Madjarevic vs. Jose "Duba" Baradas
Rozle Jazbinsek vs. Chris Johnson
Domagoj "Buco" Ostojic vs. James McSweeney (Pictures)
Rodney Faverus vs. Andrei Molchanov
Henrique Zowa vs. Daniel Petroni
(MMA Rules)
Damir Mirenic vs. Jean Francois Lenogue (Pictures)
Arslanbek Asharov vs. Ruben Vasquez
Jair Sorisso Concalves vs. Mario Milosaljevic
Tomasz Drwal vs. Mikko Rupponen
Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures) vs. Mindaugas Smirnovas (Pictures)
MFN plans mega event
Klaus Waschkewitz, the former mentor of German K-1 star Stefan Leko (Pictures) and organizer of some of the biggest kickboxing events in the country, has announced that he will team up with "Golden Glory" boss Bas Boon for a Muay Thai mega event in early 2008.
The plan is to have the eight winners from the MFN Cologne show this weekend to go face to face with the standouts from the Dutch world class gym, which is home to such stars as two-time winner Semmy Schilt (Pictures), the German duo Chalid Arrab (Pictures) and Stefan Leko (Pictures), as well as PRIDE veteran Alistair Overeem (Pictures).
Also on the card for the event, which is supposed to be held in Hamburg, is going to be an IKBO title fight between champion Mark Vogel from Germany and a challenger from Thailand.
French elite in action
With mixed martial arts still banned in France, the country's elite fighters got together for another night of submission fighting in Paris two weeks ago.
ADCC European Qualification Winner Nicolas Rénier was victorious, as was PRIDE Bushido veteran Grégory Bouchelaghem. In a "Pancrase" super fight ("Pancrase" is the French name for amateur MMA) CageWarriors-experienced Boris Jonstomp took care of Shooto vet Laurent Bonafoux with a first round choke.
Bouchelaghem must have liked what he saw as he challenged undefeated submission artist Karl Amoussou to a future "Pancrase" bout.
Results:
Absolute Submission Fighting 2
April 7, 2007
Paris, France
Grappling:
Nicolas Rénier def. Mickael Tozalgan Dec.
Jonathan Gonzalez def. Nayeb Hezam Dec.
Antony Rode def. Cyril Rousseau submission (kneebar)
Mathieu Husson def. Samuel Judes Dec.
Patrick de Caro def. Hugo Février Dec.
Casimir Bendy def. Karim Radwan submission (guillotine choke)
Laurence Cousin def. Sophie Lamothe submission (Kimura)
Vincent Parisi def. Amar submission (Kimura)
Grégory Bouchelaghem def. Francis Carmont Dec.
Pierre Pilat def. Nicolas Gregoriades Dec.
Paco Lakebir def. David Pierre Louis Dec.
Pancrase Super Fight
Boris Jonstomp def. Laurent Bonafoux submission (choke) R1
Who is the new Joachim Hansen (Pictures)?
That is the question Finnish promotion "Nordic Fight Sports" were trying to answer with their seventh edition of their successful event series "The Cage."
To determine a worthy winner, they pitted four welterweight competitors against each other in a one night "Neo Blood" tournament. Local fighter Wasim Ul Masih from "Riihimäen Heracles" in Finland took the crown by beating Swede Fredrik Klingsell and countryman Jasse Junkkari, choking out both opponents in the first round.
In the main event Toni Valtonen, a teammate of European standout Mikko Rupponen, defeated CageWarriors veteran Miika Mehmet by unanimous decision.
Last minute changes for big German events
There have been a couple of last minute changes to three big German events this weekend. The four-man middleweight tournament at the Masters Fight Night in Cologne will see Dutchman John de Wilde fill in for Andre Walberer. The Franconian grappler suffered a sprained cervical vertebra in training.
Also bitten by the cancellation bug has been the Stapel Fighting Challenge, which runs its debut event at the Hessenhalle in Gießen. After being heavily knocked out at the "Art of War" show in Dallas, Danish striker Kenneth Rosfort pulled out of the co-main event against German grappler Daniel Weichel. Fatih Balci, a German Vale Tudo fighter of Turkish origin, will replace Rosfort.
The lord sometimes works in mysterious ways, that's why heavyweight hopeful Norman Jendrejczjk will not compete in the FFC "Big Bad Boyz" tournament but instead defend world peace on a military deployment abroad.
Jendrejczjk, a staff sub-officer for the German Bundeswehr, will join troops from Canada, Spain, Italy and the United States in Afghanistan. His replacement in the tournament is no slouch, as K-1 HERO'S vet Tadas Rinkevicius has taken his spot.
Who's No. 1?
It is generally accepted that the USA has the strongest wrestlers while the best jiu-jitsu fighters come from Brazil. The dominance in kickboxing remains hotly contested however.
While the Netherlands have traditionally ruled the K-1 ring, Thailand, the mother country of Muay Thai, has dominated the lower weight classes up to 70 kilos. Now those two stand-up powerhouses will clash for the third time in the Dutch city of Haarlem at Slamm's "Nederland vs. Thailand 3" show.
The card reads like a "who is who" of kickboxing and Muay Thai. Among the biggest names are former K-1 World MAX champion Andy Souwer (Pictures), world class talent Tyrone Spong, Mighty Mo's nightmare Kaoklai Kaennorsing, PRIDE veteran Brian Lo-A-Njoe (Pictures) and arguably the strongest stand-up fighter in the game today: Buakaw Por. Pramuk.
Complete lineup:
(Muay Thai)
Najim Ethouali vs. Jan van Denderen
Germaine de Randamie vs. Maria Verheyen
Andy Souwer (Pictures) vs. Joeri Mes
Jimmy Eimers vs. Hansuk Wor Petchpun
Ray Staring vs. Samranchai 96Penang
Tyrone Spong vs. Suriya Sor Ploenchit
Fikri Tijarti vs. Orono Wor Petchpun
Vincent Vielvoye vs. Kaoklai Kaennorsing
Faldir Chahbari vs. Buakaw Por. Pramuk
Hassan Aitbassou vs. Anuwat Kaewsamrit
Roger Pinas vs. Sharlimar Zimmerman
Krista Fleming vs. Chajmaa Bellakhal
Anthony Kane vs. Nick Beljaards
(MMA)
Brian Lo-A-Njoe (Pictures) vs. Cengiz Dana
Dave Dagliesh vs. Goran Reljic
Romano de los Reyes vs. Reza Madadi
Drwal vs. Rupponen for the unofficial European Championship
Poland's Tomasz Drwal (13-1-0) and Mikko Rupponen (16-4-2) from Finland, arguably the two strongest light heavyweights still plying their trade in Europe, will finally get it on at the third "World Freefight Challenge" in Slovenia.
Koper, the little seaport in Slovenia which already played host to many Brazilian stars like Edson Draggo, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons last year, has not been the best of places for the Finnish knockout artist.
In his fight against Dutchman Rodney Faverus the 29-year-old broke his hand and was out of action for six months. Also on the card will be Englishman James McSweeney (Pictures) in a K-1 rules bout against huge Croatian slugger Domagoj "Buco" Ostojic, as well as Italy-based BJJ black belt Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures) taking on Lithuanian K-1 HERO'S veteran Mindaugas Smirnovas (Pictures) for the second time in two months.
Complete lineup:
(K-1 Rules)
Dejan Madjarevic vs. Jose "Duba" Baradas
Rozle Jazbinsek vs. Chris Johnson
Domagoj "Buco" Ostojic vs. James McSweeney (Pictures)
Rodney Faverus vs. Andrei Molchanov
Henrique Zowa vs. Daniel Petroni
(MMA Rules)
Damir Mirenic vs. Jean Francois Lenogue (Pictures)
Arslanbek Asharov vs. Ruben Vasquez
Jair Sorisso Concalves vs. Mario Milosaljevic
Tomasz Drwal vs. Mikko Rupponen
Fabricio Nascimento (Pictures) vs. Mindaugas Smirnovas (Pictures)
MFN plans mega event
Klaus Waschkewitz, the former mentor of German K-1 star Stefan Leko (Pictures) and organizer of some of the biggest kickboxing events in the country, has announced that he will team up with "Golden Glory" boss Bas Boon for a Muay Thai mega event in early 2008.
The plan is to have the eight winners from the MFN Cologne show this weekend to go face to face with the standouts from the Dutch world class gym, which is home to such stars as two-time winner Semmy Schilt (Pictures), the German duo Chalid Arrab (Pictures) and Stefan Leko (Pictures), as well as PRIDE veteran Alistair Overeem (Pictures).
Also on the card for the event, which is supposed to be held in Hamburg, is going to be an IKBO title fight between champion Mark Vogel from Germany and a challenger from Thailand.
