The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), in conjunction with the Serbian MMA Federation, has inaugurated the first-ever Youth continental tournament, as part of the IMMAF European Champions, which kicked off this Saturday, March 30, in Belgrade, Serbia. And in the first day of competition, categories Youth B and Youth C shone on the biggest stage in amateur mixed martial arts.
While Ireland and Ukraine have taken over the competitions with 47 medals between the two nations, Armenia was a strong surprise package, delivering 5 gold medals, 1 silver and 2 bronze.
One of the names to watch coming into the competition, Ireland’s Roman Verhoeven didn’t disappoint as he swept through the competition to claim gold at the Youth C 34kg category, while his countryman Cameron Geraghty went on a finishing tear at Youth C 40kg to join Verhoeven in the gold medal stands for Team Ireland.
For Ukraine, Nikyta Popinko stood out, beating Ireland’s Constantin Tabacaru to claim gold at Youth C 57kg, and Oleksandr VItvitskyialso won gold at Youth B 57kg.
The host nation, Team Serbia left it late but finally snatched its first European Youth gold medal in what ended up being the last match-up of the day. Mateja Dakserovic made the arena erupt with a dominant performance to earn first place in the 72kg Youth B category, beating Team Ukraine’s Vsevolod-Ivan Stefanyshyn via unanimous decision. But the night ended in heartbreak for Serbia, as Vladimir Ostojic, having made all the way to the final, was forced to forfeit his gold medal match against Martin Petrov, from Bulgaria, at Youth B 77.1kg, being forced to settle for silver.
The IMMAF European Championships continues into this Sunday, March 31, with the Youth A tournament, before moving onto the Juniors and Seniors, who will take over the biggest proving ground in amateur MMA throughout the next week, with the Junior finals on Friday (April 5), and the gold medal matches for all Senior categories taking place on Saturday (April 6).