Team Hungary’s greatest amateur MMA product has cast a commanding figure over the IMMAF platform ever since her 2016 European Open debut where she bested a trio of the flyweight division’s leading faces, including that of former world champion Gabriella Ringblom, who found herself dissected by the Kempo specialist.
Kovács went on to win the European Open gold medal for a second time in 2017 and headed into the year’s World Championships as the heavy favorite for the women’s flyweight gold. However, Kovács’ momentum was halted upon going the distance with Brazil’s Michele Oliveira. Despite the final round ending with Kovács in control on the ground and raining down strikes, Brazil’s Oliveira had done enough to secure a scorecards victory and would go on to win the world title with Kovács awarded bronze.
The year of Kovács at the IMMAF World Championships came in 2018 where she took no prisoners. The 28-year-old enacted her most impressive form to date as she stormed through all comers, including reigning European gold medalist Janika Antinmaa, to force a trio of TKO stoppages.
As the competition grew tougher each year, so did Kovács, expanding her European Open legacy to complete a take-over of the World Championships. Hungary’s greatest export performed a surgical dissection of her rivals on the international amateur platform, showcasing her her sniper-like kempo style of unsettling push kicks, precision strikes and hip tosses with the exclamation point of an unrelenting killer instinct on the ground.
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) host the 2019 Amateur MMA Awards on Thursday 14 November during the 2019 IMMAF | WMMAA Unified World Championships in Manama.
Senior Female Athlete of The Year nominations include:
• Nina Back (Sweden)
2018 World Championships: silver
2019 European Open: silver
• Alish Smith (Australia)
2019 Oceania Open: gold
2019 Asian Open: gold
• Gase Sanita (New Zealand)
2018 World Championships: gold
• Alexandra Kovacs (Hungary)
2018 World Championships: gold
By IMMAF.org lead writer/photographer: Jorden Curran
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