LIVE
Share on Facebook
At the Balkan Open MMA Championship in Belgrade, which turned into a mini European Championship with the participation of 13 European countries, Bulgarian fighters shook up the competition by winning 3 gold, 16 silver and 5 bronze medals in all age groups.
The Balkan champions in their categories were:
Georgi Yanakiev (40kg, boys),
Viliyan Poplavov (56.7kg, juniors)
Kostadin Hristov (70.3kg, men)
The runners-up and silver medalists are:
Kristiyan Angelov (34kg, children)
Burak Ahmed (34kg, boys)
Victor Khandzhiyski (62kg, cadets)
Georgi Todorov (72kg, cadets)
Marian Katsarov (44kg, boys)
Stefan Traykov (70.3kg, juniors)
Martin Stoilov (83.9kg, juniors)
Fatih Ismail (61.2 kg, youths)
Geo Gatev (70.3 kg, youths)
Mike Iliev (83.9 kg, youths)
Nikolai Ivanov (97 kg, youth)
Georgi Kurtev (65.8 kg, men)
Silvia Spasova (79.4 kg, women)
Georgi Nedkov (79.4 kg, men)
Patrick Genov (97 kg, men)
Stefan Tsonev (97+ kg, men)
The bronze medals were won by:
Denislav Krastev
Dimitar Georgiev
Ivan Koedzhikov
Rostislav Rumenov
Krassimir Asenov
The Bulgarian MMA Federation continues to give a chance and build a new generation of young Bulgarian MMA fighters who, with hard work, discipline and character, can represent our country with dignity around the world. For us, it is not only important to win medals, but also to build strong, responsible, educated and confident young people.
13 years ago we started from scratch, today Bulgaria is among the strongest MMA nations in Europe and the world in all age groups.
Bulgarian MMA Federation is a member of the largest international MMA organization in the world IMMAF, which has over 140 member countries.
In the IMMAF world ranking among these 140 countries Bulgaria is:
Men - 7th place in the world and 4th in Europe!
Youth (18-20 years) - 7th place in the world and 3rd in Europe!
Children and adolescents (10-18 years) - 10th place in the world and 5th in Europe!
Behind us in the world ranking are populous countries with huge budgets and long-standing traditions in MMA such as the USA, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, UAE, Saudi Arabia and 120 more countries.
“I thank all the competitors of the Bulgarian MMA Federation for the enormous work they do every day in our clubs. I thank all the coaches, parents, friends and partners of the BFMMA for the trust and support. Thanks to the coaching team in Belgrade - Plamen Iliev, Vitaly Bandurski, Sevastiyan Kostov, Ivan Georgiev, as well as Ivan Milchev, Kaloyan Kolev, Niki Tsokov, Tsenko Tsonev, Ivaylo Georgiev and Emil Zahariev, who prepared the competitors for the Balkan Championship. We continue to work with the same dedication and motivation, because we believe that the future of Bulgaria lies in hardworking, capable, knowledgeable and disciplined young people” - words of the chairman of the BFMMA Stanislav Nedkov.
