By Caoilte de Barra
Last week, Melissa Mullins and Virgil Augen made it a clean sweep for IMMAF alumni on the Ares FC 9 card in Paris, France. James Sheehan continued his rise through the Cage Warriors welterweight ranks with a win over Jamie Richardson, while Liridon Ramani and Leandro Gomes also enjoyed wins in their respective bouts.
This coming week is another one stacked with former IMMAF competitors competing around the globe.
On Friday, November 11, Japan’s Kohei Maeda makes the trip to Guam to compete at Brawl International’s first card. The 2018 Oceania gold medalist competed at three IMMAF events before going pro, where he has since gone 5-5. He will face local hometown favourite Joseph Camacho in a flyweight contest.
In Kazakhstan on the same day, Elzhan Gasanov is competing on Naiza FC 47 against Myrzabek Imarali Uulu. Gasanov switched to the professional ranks earlier this year and is undefeated, winning both of his bouts to date.
Saturday, November 12, sees two world medalists in action. At XFC 61 in Dunedin, New Zealand, two-time world champion Gase Sanita will be looking to secure the first pro win of her career against Ana Ukrainka. The bantamweight title will also be on the line as Sanita returns to competition for the first time since 2019.
At Cage Warriors 146, Christian Leroy Duncan is among three alumni on the card. The two-time medalist is undefeated at 6-0 and is the current Cage Warriors middleweight champion. Duncan enjoyed a lengthy amateur career that spanned over twenty bouts and has been a force to be reckoned with since graduating to the pro ranks, only going the distance once. And a win over challenger Marian Dmitrov could be the one that earns him a UFC contract.
He is joined by WMMAA veteran Orlando Wilson Prins and 2016 European bronze medalist Milad Ahady on the card.
Last up this weekend is 2019 World champion Guangmei Han, who competes on the WKG & M-1 Global card in Shenzhen, China, this Sunday. After thriving in the amateur ranks, defeating the likes of Shauna Bannon, Frida Vastamäki and Sora Rakhmonova, she has struggled to find her form as a pro.
Han currently trains out of the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai and is touted as a top prospect in China. Her upcoming bout will be one of her toughest to date as she takes on an experienced Jie Miao in a strawweight contest.
