SENSHI 18 International Martial Arts Gala Night brought a lot of classy fights at a fast tempo and high adrenaline for the audience at the beach arena in Varna. The event was filled with unpredictable fights, and the professional fighters gave their best in pursuit of victory.
The 12 contested fights undoubtedly showed the high fighting skills of the SENSHI fighters. The participants from 14 countries demonstrated an extremely strong fighting spirit of kickboxing, kyokushin, Muay Thai, and MMA, capturing the hearts of the audience with their masterful performances. Their unbelievable combinations of precision strikes and battling tactics, coupled with attacking drive and impenetrable defense, charged the atmosphere of the evening with tension.
The Bulgarian martial stars, who took to the arena in the 18th edition of the SENSHI circuit, impressed their rivals in the ring and proved their fighting qualities, bringing our country 6 victories in the professional fighting gala.
Complete results of the fights in the SENSHI 18 International Professional Gala:
Fight #1
Cat. –70 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Konstantin Mihailov, Bulgaria vs. Vincenzo Di Nicola, Italy
In the first bout of the evening, the Bulgarian fighter Konstantin Mihailov prevailed over the Italian Vincenzo Di Nicola by unanimous decision, but after an extra round. Both opponents were very evenly matched in the 3 main rounds, and the judges had to give a 4th round to determine the final winner of the bout.
Fight #2
Cat. –75 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Mubariz Aghmaliev, Azerbaijan vs. Lucas Kotleba, Slovakia
In the second match, the well-prepared Azerbaijani Mubariz Aghmaliyev and the debutant in the gala night, Lukas Kotleba from Slovakia, faced each other. After a complementary round and a very dynamic match, by unanimous decision of the judges, the better fighter of the two was Lukas Kotleba, who deservedly won the SENSHI belt and cup.
Fight #3
Cat. –85 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Kristiyan Doychev, Bulgaria vs. Renato Prenga, Italy
The match offered the audience a lot of spectacular action and strong punches, and the total dominance of Doychev in the ring was a big advantage over his young rival. The successful Bulgarian fighter Kristiyan Doychev defeated Renato Prenga from Italy by unanimous decision of the judges.
Fight #4
Cat. –80 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Mehdi Ait El Hadj, Morocco vs. Alex Fernandez, Spain
One of the hottest fights of the Varna gala was the match between the Moroccan Mehdi Ait El Hadj and the Spaniard Alex Fernandez, who for the first time, stepped into the ring at SENSHI. The more technical and accurate of the two fighters was Mehdi El Hadj, who finally defeated the fighter from Spain by unanimous judges’ decision.
Fight #5
Cat. –95 kg, Ruleset: KWU SENSHI
Olivier Langlois-Ross, Canada vs. Sebastian Lutaniuc, Romania
The match between Canadian Oliver Langlois-Ross and Romanian Sebastian Lutaniuc started with a very sharp and tense atmosphere, with the first minutes filled with quick and accurate shots from both sides. In the contested bout, Oliver Langlois-Ross defeated the Romanian by unanimous judges’ decision and won the crowd’s applause.
Fight #6
Cat. –75 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Atanas Bozhilov, Bulgaria vs. Madicke Kamara, France
In a strong fight, both fighters came into the ring with a lot of gusto and desire to win. Atanas Bozhilov again showed class, strong spirit, and high sportsmanship, winning his 16th victory in the ring of SENSHI аgainst the Frenchman Kamara to the delight of the crowd.
Fight #7
Cat. –70 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Aissam Chadid, Morocco vs. Gregoire Gottardi, France
The duel between Moroccan Aissam Chadid and Frenchman Gregoire Gottardi was one of the most dynamic of the night, showing how important technique and speed are in martial arts. In the last minutes of the fight, the spectators witnessed a real kickboxing spectacle that kept them in suspense until the penultimate seconds. Gregoire Gottardi was the more technical and accurate fighter of the two in this bout, winning the match in the seventh bout of the night.
Fight #8
Cat. –85 kg, Ruleset: KWU OPEN
Mariyan Dimitrov, Bulgaria vs. Tonny van Dijk, Netherlands
On the beach arena, Mariyan Dimitrov faced a tough opponent who was not inferior to him in technique and class – the Dutchman Tonny van Dijk. Both came into the ring with impressive momentum and a drive for a quick win. The crowd was amazed when Tonny van Dijk prevailed with a submission in the first round. He managed to put Dimitrov in a difficult position to get out on the ground and the match ended early.
Fight #9
Cat. –75 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Mihail Velchovski, Bulgaria vs. Ayoub Benaddya, Spain
From the start of the fight, Mikhail Velchovski and Ayoub Benaddya showed strong drive and quick strikes, but neither was able to gain a significant advantage. The judges gave the two fighters an extra 4th round, in which they determined Mihail Velchovski as the winner of a really tough fight.
Fight #10
Cat. –70 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Dragomir Petrov, Bulgaria vs. Samo Petje, Slovenia
In the equal and strong fight, the spectators were impressed by the punches exchanged by the two rivals. The fighters showed excellent technique and very good strategy, not giving way to each other during the fight. In the end, Dragomir Petrov won the match against the Slovenian Samo Petje by unanimous judges’ decision after a tense match and an extra 4th round.
Fight #11
Bout for EUROPEAN TITLE
Cat. 95+ kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Ahmed Krnjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Bruno Suzano, Portugal
Two impressive fighters – the ambitious Ahmed Krnjic and the experienced veteran Bruno Suzano – faced each other in a battle for the SENSHI European heavyweight title. Throughout, the Portuguese fought with great determination and will against the powerful representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He did not give up and kept landing punches in an attempt to get back into the match, but the better of the two Ahmed Krnjic became the winner of the European SENSHI title in the super heavyweight category over 95 kg by a unanimous judges’ decision.
Fight #12
Bout for EUROPEAN TITLE
Cat. -90 kg, Ruleset: KWU FULL CONTACT
Eduard Aleksanyan, Bulgaria vs. Jacob Styben, Germany
In an epic final match, Edward Aleksanyan prevailed over Germany’s Jacob Styben, supported by his fellow countrymen and giving his best. The match was fast-paced and exciting, with the Bulgarian fighter known as “Mr. Show” aiming for the European crown. Aleksanyan imposed himself with a cleaner and more precise style and was declared the winner after three rounds of the fight for the European SENSHI title in the category up to 90 kg. The Bulgarian victory blew away the crowd, who showed their strong emotions for the excellent performance of Eduard Aleksanyan.
The special award of the SENSHI 18 Combat Gala – “Fighting Spirit” was grabbed, for the second time this year, by the Bulgarian Mihail Velchovski, who fought with unstoppable energy without conceding to his strong rival.
The prize for “Best Technique” was won by the Slovenian Samo Petje, who impressed the spectators with his accurate punches, fighting style and high skill in the ring.
The organizers’ “Knockout of the Night” award at SENSHI 18 went to Tonny van Dijk of the Netherlands for his technical victory in the first round.
Among the special guests, referees and judges of SENSHI 18 were world greats in the field of combat sports, including four-time K-1 World Champion and World Savate Champion Ernesto Hoost, Glory world champion and four-time K-1 Grand Prix winner Shihan Semmy Schilt, European and world karate champion and K-1 Grand Prix winner of Japan Shihan Nicholas Pettas, absolute Kyokushin world champion Sensei Tariel Nikoleishvili. The star group also included the first K-1 Max World Champion Albert Kraus, Dutch kickboxer and two-time K-1 Max World Champion Andy Souwer and European Kyokushin Champion Sensei Jan Soukup.
In the role of referees and judges of the SENSHI 18 Fighting Gala were the native Kyokushin legends – the absolute world champion in Kyokushin Karate and four-time American absolute champion Sensei Zahari Damyanov and the world and European champion in Kyokushin Karate Sensei Petar Martinov.
Fans of combat sports, who experienced an unforgettable evening as spectators on the beach arena remained highly excited by the spectacular fights full of surprises. The next edition of SENSHI promises to once again surprise spectators and fans with outstanding fights, spectacular and exciting moments.
SENSHI 18 is organized in cooperation with the Professional League of the Kyokushin World Union (KWU International Professional League), as well as with the special support of Armeec Insurance Company, MAX Sport, Bulgaria Air, M Car Group – BMW dealer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Service and St. St. Constantine and Helena Holding.
SENSHI’s media partners are Boec.BG and Boec.COM, the national television Bulgaria ON AIR, the American online martial arts television FITE, Gol.bg, Topsport.bg, Kwunion.com, the information portal Kyokushin Karate News, Fighto.News and Novinata.bg.
