By Caoilte de Barra
Last week, Irish trio Cian Cowley, Lee Hammond and Shauna Bannon all took home wins, while 2015 World Champion Saeid Mirzaei returned to winning ways at BFL 75.
This week features plenty more alumni that have moved onto the pro ranks.
On Thursday, two former IMMAF athletes will clash at ARES FC 10 when 2019 European bronze medalist Paulin Begai faces 2015 European gold medalist Paolo Anastasi in a light heavyweight clash.
Saturday sees Swedish standout Josefine Modig make her pro debut against Ariadna Duran at WFP 5. The 2021 World silver medalist will be joined by Tobias Soderberg and Daniel Karlsson on the card as all three former national team athletes look to kickstart their professional careers.
Modig is not the only athlete that competed at the most recent set of European Championships competing in the pro ranks this weekend. Norway’s Cecilie Bolander faces Danielle Misteli at Cage Warriors Academy South East.
The 2022 European Gold medalist burst onto the scene at the 2021 World Cup, where she took gold in her maiden IMMAF tournament. She made it to the finals of the 2021 World Championships but lost out to Sabrina De Sousa in the final.
At UFC 282, history will be made when Raul Rosas Jr. enters the Octagon. The 2019 Youth World Champion became the youngest athlete in UFC history when he impressed UFC President Dana White on the Contender Series to earn a contract.
The 18-year-old is the first youth graduate to make it to the UFC and is determined to become the youngest champion in UFC history. He will face Jay Perrin in a bantamweight bout on the prelims of the PPV card.
Rounding out the week, Joseph Luciano hopes to extend his win streak to five at Rogue MMA 5 in Melbourne, Australia.
