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LiverKick Talks With K-1’s Jarrell Miller Week 3: Breaking Faces

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LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 3: Breaking Faces

K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May. This is week 3.

This week as a big week for K-1, as K-1 and Spike TV announced a multi-platform deal which means that the September 8th show will be streamed live on Spike TV’s website, Spike.com. Spike.com has been airing Bellator MMA events on there and see a healthy amount of traffic, which for this event only means that more eyes will be on it. We asked Jarrell if this changes anything for him.

“Nah, I mean, I’m motivated regardless. Even if this fight was shown in, you know, a hole in the wall I’d be motivated,” he explains. “I’m even more excited knowing that more eyes are on me now. At the end of the day, I know what I gotta do regardless. You know, I got my life on the line here.”

But that wasn’t the only thing that was new for this week for Jarrell, as he has ramped up his training considerably. Originally slated to work with Phil Nurse, they’ve switched up his camp a bit and brought in a new striking coach for him and the focus has been on his kicks, as his hands don’t need the same type of focus.

“Lots of kicking drills this week,” Jarrell confirms. “This week has been conditioning and a lottttt of kicking. I mean that, a lot of kicking. That has been my focus, because I’m always kicking, but not like this. I’m training way too fucking hard. You gotta recognize throwing kicks again, man. The stuff we are doing now it feels like I’m in a real fight while I’m training, it’s an entirely different animal. I mean, I’m working out two times a day.”

Indeed he is, as after last week’s interview a lot of eyes popped out when they saw that Jarrell, a 240lbs fighter, was running six minute miles. What is funny is, some of his training partners went out of their way to confirm that even though Jarrell is the biggest guy at the gym, he’s probably the fastest guy as well. When it comes to his opponent, Jack May, though, he has some choice words for him.

LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 3: Breaking Faces

“I bet he hasn’t even sparred with anybody like me. I bet he’s never been hit with a body kick like this before,” Jarrell laughs. “I mean, fuck this, I’m gonna go in there and knock his head off. I don’t care if I gotta kill him to make a statement, knock his ass out and leave him unconscious on the mat for three minutes. I’m going to break some faces in K-1.

“Look, I don’t know this guy, I don’t know his story of where he came from, but I know it wasn’t as hard as where I’m from, as what I’ve had to overcome. This shit is real, this life has been tough and I’m tougher for it,” he reflects. “I already know how he’s gonna fight, I know he’s gonna do this in one of two ways. He’s either gonna come out fast and strong or he’s gonna come out and want to feel me out, do this pitter-patter shit. I don’t really care what he does, I’m going to take his head off in the first round, I guarantee it.”

As for if Jarrell is looking beyond this fight, it is safe to say that he is. “I was ready for him before I even signed the contract,” he added. “I’m ready all the way to December when I’m going to take the finals. I’m a bit disappointed because, there is like, no real crazy Kickboxing guy for me to beat in this whole tournament thing. I want Daniel Ghita, I want to knock his head off, but who knows where he’s at. You know, there is no Jerome Le Banner, there is no Alistair Overeem — I’d knock his head off, too, you know — there aren’t these high level elite guys in this, and I know that I’m a really good fighter, but I need that big win. I gotta beat the boss, you know? Mirko Cro Cop, you know, he’s cool, but he’s older, I’m gonna fuck him up.”

Japanese Court Declares FEG Bankrupt

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Japanese Court Declares FEG Bankrupt

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years of FEG’s financial problems, obviously the biggest being the scandal that erupted and led to the hiatus and sale of K-1. Caught in the crossfire of the whole ordeal was Golden Glory’s Bas Boon, who is owed somewhere in the realm of $2 million by FEG and attempted to outright purchase K-1 before EMCOM purchased the rights to K-1 and formed K-1 Global Holdings. In a new interview with legendary Japanese journalist Tadashi Tanaka, Boon discusses the proceedings in Japan, as well as his suspicions over the current K-1 brand.

“At 5 pm on May 7, the Tokyo District Court issued an order declaring FEG bankrupt, and commenced proceedings to wind up the company. The court ruled that FEG is insolvent and has appointed a trustee to administer all outstanding debts of the company.

We estimate that FEG’s debts exceed $30 Million; Golden Glory is owed nearly $2 million, all of which is debts to fighters and trainers. The real tragedy is for the many incredibly talented athletes, production companies, venues, and other suppliers who were making an honest living providing services to K1.

Japanese Court Declares FEG Bankrupt

As a creditor of FEG, Golden Glory hopes that this bankruptcy proceeding will also lead to an opportunity to shed light on the parties responsible for the company’s mismanagement and reveal what is really going on with the K-1 brand. We are especially concerned that some transactions will drain FEG of its remaining assets and goodwill and leave the creditors with nothing. It does cost a lot of money but we are confident that with the administrator from the court we will find assets from FEG/K-1 which can be used to pay some of the creditors.

It is a very long and costly process to file a petition for a foreigner in Japan.”

LiverKick Talks With K-1’s Jarrell Miller Week 2: Training for His Olympics

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LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 2: Training for His Olympics

K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May. This is week two.

“You know, man, this is my Olympics, you know?” Jarrell Miller, one of the few younger fighters selected for K-1’s American return explained to me. “I came into Boxing and I was already a professional fighter, so I didn’t get to go through the amateur system like some guys do. I didn’t get to go to the Olympics, man. So for me, fighting in K-1, that is like the Olympics for me.”

To say that Jarrell Miller will be prepared for his upcoming bout in Los Angeles is an understatement, I think. Miller, whose Muay Thai and Kickboxing career spans 19 fights now has transitioned to Boxing where he has seen a deal of success in a short period of time. By the time he steps into the ring with Jack May in September, Jarrell Miller will be just about a year removed from his last Kickboxing fight, but he isn’t worried about being rusty.

“Man, I’m always kicking people, you know?” He jokes. He was scheduled to fight in May for Take On’s big show at the MSG Theater before he suffered an injury, but fought in a Boxing match the next month. “It was a minor setback,” he explains. “But I came back in July and fought in New York, knocking this guy out in the first round. I’ve been training Muay Thai again since that fight on and off, but I’m always ready.”

LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 2: Training for His Olympics

As for his training this week, he’s been pushing hard waiting for one of his Muay Thai coaches, Phil Nurse, to return from Denver where he was there to corner UFC 150 main eventer Frankie Edgar. They resume their training tomorrow and plan to ramp up with some intense sparring and drills. That doesn’t mean that he’s been slacking in the meantime, on the contrary.

“I’m doing six minute miles,” Jarrell explains. “We’ve definitely picked things up, like I said, six minute miles. No matter what else we work on, conditioning is number one. It is the most important thing, I gotta know where my wind is at. I’m doing a lot to prepare, working on a lot of things, but my conditioning is always on my mind, looking to get to that 100 percent marker and I still have a few weeks to do that.”

We shifted focus a bit to discuss the K-1 World Grand Prix, which he’ll have a chance to qualify for against Jack May come September 8th in Los Angeles. The Finals are scheduled to take place in New York, Jarrell’s home, but he isn’t looking that far ahead yet to competing in the finals, for right now he is focused on getting to fight in Japan come October in the Final 16.

“You know how I said that I’d knock Daniel Ghita out?” Jarrell asks me. “I’m gonna knock Jack May the fuck out,” he laughs. “Jack May is gonna be knocked the fuck out. Dude is just on the toilet and he’s just waiting to get flushed down it. That is what is gonna happen to him on September 8th.”

“I know that my main goal is still to be Boxing Heavyweight Champion of the world,” he adds when looking to his future. “I’ll fight anywhere, if UFC called me up tomorrow and wanted me to fight, I’d fight for them. Right now it is K-1, and I’m focused on that for the time being, but my main goal as a fighter is still to become Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’m not in this for the money, I mean, look, I am. I have a family to support and money is important, but this is about my legacy. I’m going out there to build up my legacy, and right now I’m going to do that in K-1. Either way you look at it, I’m training hard and I’m pushing. I’m training every day and I’m training harder and harder.”

LiverKick Talks With K-1’s Jarrell Miller Week 1: The Introduction

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LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 1: The Introduction

K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May.

“Daniel Ghita,” Jarrell told me, without a hint of hesitation in his voice. “If I were looking forward to fighting one guy in this K-1 tournament, it would be Daniel Ghita. I want to whoop Daniel Ghita’s ass, that’s for sure.”

This is how I want to introduce fans to Jarrell Miller. To many, this would seem like an empty boast, part of pre-fight preparations and the process of psyching up to take on the world. Jarrell Miller, though, is a bit of a different case. Jarrell is only 23 years old, and already packs a 19-0 record in Kickboxing and Muay Thai as well as a professional Boxing record of 3-0. There is something to be said for remaining undefeated early on in a professional career, but it isn’t like Jarrell has been without challenge. Jarrell is a man with many nicknames, and if you were lucky enough to catch the WCL – World Combat League – when it was running, you’ll remember him as the 19 year old kid named Achilles King who defeated UFC superstar Pat Barry. That was Jarrell.

LiverKick Talks With K-1's Jarrell Miller Week 1: The Introduction

A win like that already puts Miller in the realm of American Kickboxing royalty, but what he’s done since then has been just as impressive. Currently fighting out of Renzo Gracie’s academy in New York, as well as his own gym on Long Island, Miller has brought one of the finest striking coaches in the United States to help him prepare for his upcoming K-1 debut in Kru Phil Nurse. The past few years has even seen Miller work with some of the biggest names in combat sports as a training partner for them, including Jerome Le Banner.

“Yeah, I was sparring with Jerome for a bit,” he laughed. “I don’t think everyone else got why it was such a big deal, this was Jerome le Banner! I was really impressed with his footwork and definitely learned some stuff from him.”

It doesn’t stop there, though, as Miller has been known to have a very good relationship with the two biggest names in the realm of Heavyweight Boxing in Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. Miller has worked with them preparing for fights now, serving as one of their favorite training partners. Of course, Vitali has also fought as a Kickboxer in the past, and for a fighter like Miller who began with Muay Thai before transitioning into Boxing, there is a lot to learn from a fighter like that.

“You know, working with Vitali and Wladimir is a great experience,” Jarrell reflects. “Vitali, he came from Kickboxing though, not like Muay Thai like I did, so it really is an entirely different experience. He may have had some success Kickboxing, but I’ve seen his fights and wasn’t all that impressed,” he laughs. “I know when we train I’m kicking their asses around the ring all day long.”

On September 8th he makes his K-1 debut against Jack May, who stands 6’8” and weighs around 260lbs, making him one of the bigger opponents that Miller has faced yet. On top of that, there is the entire American field of Kickboxers that K-1 has assembled for this show.

“His size doesn’t bother me,” Jarrell states confidently. “I’ve fought big guys before, you know, 6’5”, 6’6” and whatever, I’ve taken care of all of them without a problem. I’ve seen Jack May fight and man, I’m not impressed with him or his skills. Like I said, I train with the Klitschko brothers and I kick their asses all around the ring. I’m not sure that Jack May knows how to use his size to his advantage. There aren’t a lot of changes I’m going to make to my training, I’m just going to bring my experience and my skills to this fight.”

K-1 is going to be another challenge for Miller, who has recently turned to professional Boxing with his impressive 3-0 record and was set to make his MMA debut a few months back, until the show was cancelled. He doesn’t think that he’ll make his MMA debut any time soon, though, as he is focused on Boxing and K-1. He actually had two Boxing fights scheduled before K-1 called him up, until one of them fell through and he had a long talk with his manager before deciding that he wanted to compete in K-1, a dream come true.

“I’m focused on K-1 in September,” he states. “I want to take some Boxing matches, but K-1 comes first, there might be one after the K-1 fight just to stay sharp for the next round, though. This is going to be a good fight, I mean there is no quit in me. I’m gonna go in there and just go for the kill like I always do. I’m going to treat this like a Thai fight, and you know, I’m not doing this for the money or the fame or anything like that. I’m doing this because I love to fight and this is what I do. I’m a fighter. Most of these Americans fighting for K-1 are old, guys like Rick Roufus, Mighty Mo, but not me. I’m young, I’m fresh, athletic and I have enthusiasm to go out there and make a name for myself.”

Jarrell Miller is without a doubt on his way to making an impact in his K-1 debut. Miller has been a lifelong fan of K-1, citing inspiration from fighters like Ernesto Hoost, Jerome Le Banner, Masato and more and has of course set his sights incredibly high on taking out a guy like Daniel Ghita. On September 8th he has to make his way through Jack May first, with this being his biggest fight since his fight with Pat Barry on a big stage like this. Don’t count him out due to lack of experience, as the WCL taught him a lot of important lessons about fighting in front of bigger crowds, travelling around and fighting for a television audience. Come September 8th, Miller will be ready.

Join us next week for our next installment of Jarrell Miller’s K-1 training blog, where we’ll catch up with Miller yet again and discuss his training with Phil Nurse, who will be back in the gym with him after the UFC event this weekend.

Weekend Results: Eddie Walker KO’s Joe Schilling

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Weekend Results: Eddie Walker KO's Joe Schilling

It isn’t that people underrate Eddie Walker as much as Joe Schilling is one of the few American Muay Thai stars that people believe in, so this weekend when Eddie Walker stepped into the ring against the tour de force that is known as Joe Schilling with Can’t Stop Crazy behind him, he really had nothing to lose. Things were rocky at the start for Walker and it looked like Schilling was going to get the job done in the second round, but when he went in for the kill, something truly fascinating happened; Walker unloaded with a clean shot that put Schilling down and ended the fight. Walker has gone and made himself a name in the blink of an eye in the US Muay Thai scene. He is also expected to make his K-1 debut at some point in the near future as well, so things are looking up for Walker.

Weekend Results: Eddie Walker KO's Joe Schilling

The rest of the Pro fights from Lion Fight were as follows;

Eddie Walker (R2 – KO) Joe Schilling

Gregory Choplin (Dec.) Joseph Valtellini

Tiffany Van Soest (Dec.) Jeri Sitzes

Andy Singh (Dec.) Anthony Castrejon

Coke Chunhawat (R4 – KO) Adiran Morilla

Thai Fight Tournaments Begin Tomorrow: Buakaw vs. Mauro Serra

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Thai Fight Tournaments Begin Tomorrow: Buakaw vs. Mauro Serra

Thai Fight is back on October 23 (which is tonight or tomorrow, depending on what timezone you’re in), with the start of their 2012 tournaments, again using the same weights of 67kg and 70kg. Last year’s winners were Kem Sitsongpeenong at 67kg and Buakaw at 70kg.

Buakaw will still be in the 70kg field this year, while Kem is no longer in the 67kg field, as Singmanee Kaewsamrit will be the Thai representative. With Singmanee at 67kg, the field is much more competitive with him already having lost to fellow tournament participant Houcine Bennoui and arguably losing to Andrei Kulebin in June. As for 70kg, Buakaw the field is pretty much made for Buakaw to run right through it. Last year’s field at 70kg was much stronger.

Thai Fight as usual will be shown live on Channel 3 in Thailand, and we’ll assume you’re internet-savvy enough to find a way to watch it for those outside of Thailand. The approximate start time is 2:20 AM ET/11:20 PM PT in North America and 1:20 PM local time in Thailand.

Thai Fight Tournaments Begin Tomorrow: Buakaw vs. Mauro Serra

67 kg: 

Rachid Boumalek vs Singmanee Kaewsamrit

Mehdi Zatout vs Shan Cangelosi

Andrei Kulebin vs Crice Boussoukou

Adaylton Pareira De Freitas vs Houcine Bennoui 

70 kg: 

Buakaw Por Pramuk vs Mauro Serra

Choi Woo Yeong vs Nishikawa Tomoyuki

Shannon King vs Antero Hynynen

Vitaly Gurkov vs Fares Bechar

GLORY 5 London: Tyrone Spong vs. Remy Bonjasky Announced For Feb. 16

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GLORY 5 London: Tyrone Spong vs. Remy Bonjasky Announced For Feb. 16

GLORY just announced their first big event of 2013, which will see them head to London, England on February 16.

Headlining the card will be Tyrone Spong vs. Remy Bonjasky, a fight that has been in the making for quite some time. Other match-ups announced so far are Jordan Watson taking on Steve Moxon and Liam Harrison fighting Mosab Amrani in Amrani’s return fight.

Spong vs. Bonjasky is a huge name fight, with both fighters being amongst the biggest names in kickboxing. Remy made his return this year, in October, when he took a very tough win over Anderson “Braddock” Silva at GLORY 2 Brussels on October 6. Spong recently tried his hand at MMA on November 3, coming away with a win at World Series of Fighting. Before that, Spong defeated Peter Aerts by way of third round stoppage at It’s Showtime on June 30.

GLORY 5 London: Tyrone Spong vs. Remy Bonjasky Announced For Feb. 16

Steve Moxon gets a tough test in his GLORY debut in Jordan Watson. Watson just made his GLORY debut at GLORY 3 Rome, taking a decision win over Mustapha Haida. What’s also very interesting is Liam Harrison being on the card. Liam primarily fights Muay Thai but has devastating low kicks and has destroyed pretty formidable opponents like Andrei Kulebin with them. Mosab Amrani has been out since November 2011 with a bad leg injury, but faces a stiff test in his return.

Read the full press release and information from GLORY, here.

Buakaw Back At Thai Fight Semi Finals Tomorrow

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Buakaw Back At Thai Fight Semi Finals Tomorrow

Although there’s almost no buzz at all surrounding Thai Fight tomorrow, the semi finals of their tournaments at 67kg and 70kg take place, with all eight fighters have won their quarter final match-ups a month ago.

The name that sticks out, of course, is Buakaw Por. Pramuk, who faces Nishikawa Tomoyuki in his semi final fight. Buakaw dominated Mauro Serra en route to a third round stoppage last month to qualify, while Tomoyuki got here by defeating Woo Yeong Choi by decision. This fight is pretty much a guaranteed win for Buakaw, let’s be real.

On the other side of the 70kg bracket, Vitaly Gurkov fights Antero Hynynen. A lot of people remember Gurkov from getting completely schooled by Giorgio Petrosyan in K-1 in 2010, but the truth is that he’s much better at Muay Thai than kickboxing and has a very strong clinch game which even gave Kem Sitsongpeenong a lot of trouble when Gurkov defeated him at the IFMAs in September. Hynynen was a relative unknown before defeating Shannon King in his quarter final fight, showing a savvy kicking game and good timing to get a decision win. I think the ideal match-up for the finals would be Buakaw vs. Gurkov.

At 67kg, the match-ups are a lot tighter, with the field being more competitive. Mehdi Zatout faces Singmanee Kaewsamrit on one side of the bracket. Zatout made quick work of Shan Cangelosi in the quarter finals, cutting him with an elbow shortly into the first round while Singmanee dominated Valdrin Vatnikaj to a decision win. This fight should be pretty competitive, especially with the way Singmanee fights and based on his two fights with Houcine Bennoui.

Buakaw Back At Thai Fight Semi Finals Tomorrow

On the other side of the 67kg semi finals, Andrei Kulebin fights Adaylton Pereira de Freitas. Adaylton, like Hynynen was also not very well known before his quarter final fight, where he scored an upset of Houcine Bennoui. Kulebin defeated Bennoui’s teammate, Crice Boussoukou to advance to this fight. This should be another very close and competitive fight, and I could see it going either way.

The event will be shown live on Channel 3 in Thailand at 3:00 PM local time.

  • 70kg semi final: Buakaw Por. Pramuk vs. Nishikawa Tomoyuki
  • 70kg semi final: Vitaly Gurkov vs. Antero Hynynen
  • 67kg semi final: Singmanee Kaewsamrit vs. Mehdi Zatout
  • 67kg semi final: Andrei Kulebin vs. Adaylton Pereira de Freitas

Robin van Roosmalen vs. Yuichiro Nagashima, Jerome Le Banner vs. Koichi Pettas added to DREAM 18/GLORY 4 on NYE

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Robin van Roosmalen vs. Yuichiro Nagashima, Jerome Le Banner vs. Koichi Pettas added to DREAM 18/GLORY 4 on NYE

The DREAM 18/GLORY 4 mega card continues to expand, as lately we’ve had a steady flow of fight announcements over the past few days.

Just now, it was announced via press conference that Robin van Roosmalen will fight Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima at 70kg. The fight will be a kickboxing bout, and I’m only mentioning that because it was actually rumored that these two would fight in MMA. Robin comes off making it to the finals of the GLORY Final 8 in Rome where he lost to Giorgio Petrosyan on November 3, while Nagashima last fought in October at REBELS 13 and dropped a close decision to Henri van Opstal.

Robin van Roosmalen vs. Yuichiro Nagashima, Jerome Le Banner vs. Koichi Pettas added to DREAM 18/GLORY 4 on NYE

In a heavyweight kickboxing bout, Jerome Le Banner will face Koichi Pettas. Le Banner was another fighter who was rumored to be fighting MMA but instead he’ll do kickboxing. Pettas made his GLORY debut at GLORY 2 Brussels where he stopped Mark Miller.

Vladimir Mineev Survives Knockdown, Beats Ali Cenik

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Vladimir Mineev Survives Knockdown, Beats Ali Cenik

Fight Nights held Battle of Moscow 9 today in Moscow, Russia with three kickboxing bouts on the card. Vladimir Mineev fought the biggest test of his career in the main event against GLORY’s Ali Cenik.

Mineev hadn’t fought since June and it looked like there may have been some ring rust in the first round. By the second round, Mineev was starting to find his groove before getting caught with a perfectly placed coutner left hook from Cenik, sending him to the canvas. Down on the scorecards, Mineev rallied back in the third round and forced an extra round, where he dropped Cenik and got a decision victory. Mineev was tested and passed, but I’ll be the first to say that he didn’t look really good like he normally does. The good thing is that he’s still only 22, and this fight also showed that he should stick to fighting at 95kg and not pursue heavyweight.

Vladimir Mineev Survives Knockdown, Beats Ali Cenik

At 80kg, one of the top light heavyweights in kickboxing, Alexander Stetsurenko returned to the ring where he faced Golden Glory’s Karapet Karapetyan. On paper this seemed like a sure win for Stetsurenko but Karapetyan showed that he’s really improved over the course of this year and gave Stetsurenko a lot of trouble, not allowing him to get inside and peppering him from the outside. Stetsurenko looked to have hurt Karapetyan a few times when he was able to get inside, and ultimately got a razor thin decision victory. For Karapetyan there’s no shame in defeat and he put up a really good fight.

At 95kg, another staple in Fights Nights, Ramazan Ramazanov, dominated Holland’s Fabian Gondorf over the course of three rounds. Ramazanov was very sharp with his kicking game and might be finding some consistency to his performances. I’d like to see him take a step up in competition against even the likes of Ali Cenik to see how he does.

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