Faldir Chahbari and Warren Stevelmans Pick Up Wins in Spain

Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:14

Written by Rian Scalia

This past weekend, promotion Real Fighters held an event in Malaga, Spain and the show played host to some familiar kickboxing talent from Europe.

A -70kg tournament was the main showcase on the card, as 4 fighters battled it out for the 5000 Euro prize. In the first semi-final, Jonay Risco took on Mike's Gym fighter Rachid Belaini and took a decision in an extra round to advance to the finals. In the other semi-final, it was an all Spanish affair as Javier Maiz took on Fran Palenzuela. Palenzuela beat Maiz and advanced to the final, making it an two Spaniards in the final. Palenzuela took a decision over Risco to win the tournament. It was a quick turn-around for both men, as they both fought and lost to Naruepol and Yodsaenklai Fairtex respectively in China on June 18.

Two relatively high profile super fights also took place on the card. Faldir Chahbari took on late replacement Sergio Sanchez in a -72kg bout. It was a close fight but the experienced Chahbari was able to pull through and edge out a decision over 3 rounds. This win makes it four in a row for Chahbari, and maybe warrants a step up in competition for the Dutch-Moroccan.

Coming off his win over Yavuz Kayabasi for It's Showtime in Madrid on June 18, Zeben Diaz took on Warren Stevelmans. Diaz took the first round handily, dominating Stevelmans. Never one to quit, Stevelmans stormed back in the second round. The referee stopped the fight after the second round when Diaz appeared not able to continue after resting his arms on the ring ropes.  We don't know if it was questionable stoppage or not yet, hopefully a video comes out. Stevelmans now has two wins in a row, and this can make up for his loss to Rafi Zouheir in the finals of the K-1 MAX Madrid Tournament.

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