2 More Bouts Added to Europa MMA 1

2 More Bouts Added to Europa MMA 1
by Chris Houten - @mhouts

 

Europa MMA officials have announced today the addition of 2 more bouts to their debut card.

Terry Doyle and Danny Joel will meet in a lightweight contest, and welterweights Jamie Richardson and Mareks Belevics are set to make their professional debuts, at the March 22nd Event.

Europa MMA 1 takes place at the Brentwood Centre, Essex and is headlined by Germany’s no.2 and Sweden’s no.2 ranked featherweights Max Coga and Niklas Backstrom. Tickets are now on sale HERE.

Undefeated prospected Terry Doyle will look to keep his momentum going from his professional debut TKO win over Lorenzo Valbonesi at Novembers Fusion Fighting Championship. Prior to turning pro Doyle posted a 2-0 amateur record.

His opponent, Danny Joel will be right at home March 22nd when he enters the Brentwood Centre, with the local lad fighting for the second time in his professional career minutes away from his home. Having lost his professional debut to Kane Moussah by TKO at FCC 7, Joel will be aim to pick up his first professional victory of his career at Europa MMA. Joel brings an “anytime, anywhere” fighting style and despite losing in his debut will prove a tough test for any stepping up to fight him.

Jamie Richardson who fights out of Force MMA along side 9x UFC veteran Paul Taylor, enter his pro debut with an extensive amateur record of 6-1 where he is currently enjoying a 6 fight win stream. A submission specialist, Richardson has defeated all but one of his opponents by way of submission.

His opponent, Latvian Mareks Belevics also enters the bout with an extensive amateur record with 5 wins and 4 losses. A product of Ripped MMA in Harrow, Belevics has won 4 of his 5 victories by TKO, and enters the bout looking to bounce back from a December 2012 loss to Ole Magnor.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Europa MMA 1 

Europa MMA's CEO Sean Sinclair talks to Kingdom MMA

Sean Sinclair discusses Europa MMA 1 and his plans for the future of Europa MMA

by Chris Houten @mrhouts

Today Kingdom MMA caught up with the CEO of Europa MMA, Sean Sinclair to discuss Europa MMA 1, which takes place on the 22nd March in Brentwood. Also, we talk about his plans for the future of Europa MMA.

Firstly, thank you for your team.
When I first saw mentions of your first event on twitter a few months ago, I found myself intrigued by the promotion as you have a great main event in Coga vs Backstrom. Can you tell me a bit about yourself and who else forms the brains behind the promotion? and what your backgrounds are?
The founder is Sean Sinclair; I'm a young entrepreneur who has a passion for MMA and wanted to launch my own promotion. There are several other people involved, including a few influential people within the MMA world. However they won’t be announced as part of the team until mid-2014.

Your first show takes place March 22nd, how many months has this show been in the making and have the difficulties of launching a new promotion and arranging your first show been everything you expected?
The show has been in the making since December 2013, with regards to starting a new promotion the saying is

“if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!”

The easiest part has been arranging the main card due to the professionalism within the higher levels of the MMA scene.

As I said at the start you have a great main event set in Coga vs Backstrom; Who do you have working as match maker, and how did this fight come about?
All match making is done internally by the team, however we hope to make an announcement about our dedicated matchmaker soon. The fight come about because Backstrom hasn’t been able to get a great fight for a while now, and since Max Coga is on a tear and equally as skilled as Backstrom it was an easy fight to put together. When we told both the fighters about the bout, they were both equally as excited so it was very much a no brainer to make this happen.

You also have some pretty big names from the UK scene on the card such as Jeremy Petley, Wendle Lewis, Andre Winner etc. what is your process behind match making?
We go with the philosophy of R&R (Rankings & Records) meaning we will only put together fights with equally similar ranked guys. If a fighter is not ranked it is done on a record basis of similar fight experience and styles, at this level there is not a lot of footage of guys out there so you can’t make stylistic matchups meaning this is the best philosophy to follow.

So far you have announced 4 bouts for Europa MMA 1, how many fights do you anticipate putting on for your debut show?
Ten fights in total, we feel any more than this pollutes the experience for the fans.

Will all these bouts be professional contests or will you have a mixture of pro and amateur bouts?
No we will be doing professional cards exclusively, with fight nights being held at smaller venues for amateur fighters.

When can fans expect additional fight announcements?
We will be announcing the full card soon, as there are still some spots to fill.

You recently announced a new fight to the card, can you tell us about that fight and will this form part of the main card or the prelims?
Mohammed Babadivand who is a training partner of Niklas Backstrom will be taking on Frenchman Peter Ligier who fights out of Geneva Switzerland, this will be a professional bantamweight contest on the main card.

Are Europa MMA doing any drug testing for this show, and do you plan on working with Safe MMA for your first show? If not, is there a reason behind not working with Safe MMA and would you like to do so in the future?
Standard blood tests for Hep B/C and HIV are being done, which Europa MMA has funded. However, PED’s are not being tested for this event, as you can imagine the logistics behind this has proven difficult for the first event. We will be signing up with Safe MMA for what we will anticipate to be our third event.

Do you plan on making the show available online, whether it's live or delayed on youtube for fans who can't be in attendance?
All fights will be available on youtube, streaming is something we’re exploring and look to bring soon.

I know tickets for Europa MMA 1 are on sale now, where can fans buy tickets and how well are tickets selling?
Tickets are available at Ticketline.co.uk and local fans in Essex looking to buy tickets can like us on Facebook and take advantage of our free courier service. Tickets are selling at a steady pace as expected of a first event.

Do you have a set number of shows targeted for this year and do you plan on putting titles on the line at some stage?
We don’t have a set target, although we are currently committed to three shows as things stand. We won’t be introducing titles until the promotion gains credibility, as we want them to mean something for the fighter.

Can you tell me what your aspirations for the promotion are? Whats the ultimate goal?
The ultimate goal is to introduce a tournament format with a generous cash prize; we aren’t looking to take on any of the promotions who have a roster of fighters. We simply want to be a platform for European fighters to launch themselves into the MMA scene, and hopefully land lucrative contracts with other promotions.

Where do you see Europe MMA 3 years from now?
Doing our first tournament which will span over four shows, and hopefully some of those shows will be in various capital cities across Europe. Including England, Germany and Sweden.

Finally what sets Europa MMA apart from all the other promotions in the UK?
The main event of our first show represents what sets us apart, you are going to see high ranked guys from different countries across Europe meeting on neutral ground. To give both fighters the best opportunity and the fans and an experience of what the best across Europe have to offer. Helping grow peoples interest and support of other European fighters and promotions across the continent.

Thank you for your time Sean, we really appreciate it at such a busy time and all of us at the site are looking forward to your first event. As Sean said before that first event, Europa MMA 1 takes place at the Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex on 22nd March. Tickets are priced between £30 - £50 for this event.

Europa MMA 1 Adds Mohammad Babadivand vs Peter Ligier

Europa MMA 1 Adds Mohammad Babadivand vs Peter Ligier
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

A bantamweight battle pitting Sweden vs France has been added to Europa MMA's inaugural card.

Undefeated Swedish prospect Mohammad Babadivand ( 3-0-1) will meet also undefeated Peter Ligier (2-0) of France in March.

Europa MMA 1 takes place March 22nd, at the Brentwood Centre, Essex and is headlined by Germany’s no.2 and Sweden’s no.2 ranked featherweights Max Coga and Niklas Backstrom. Tickets are now on sale HERE.

A Product of Sweden's All Star Training Center along side UFC fighters such as Papy Abedi, Nicholas Musike, and Magnus Cebenblad, Mohammad Babadivand joins team Niklas Backstom on Europa MMA's inaugural card. Babadivand made his professional debut in 2008 put together a 4 fight undefeated run between '08 and 2010 when he last fought. Babadivand has finish 2 of 3 of his victories inside the distance.

His opponent Peter Ligier fights for the 3rd time in his young career, having made his debut at Knock Out Championships 6 in April. A relatively unknown quantity, Ligier is a submission specialist and has submitted both of his opponents in the first round. Europa MMA marks the first time Ligier fights for the first time out side of his native France.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Europa MMA 1

Jeremy Petley vs Andre Winner Set for Europa MMA 1 Co-Main Event

Jeremy Petley vs Andre Winner Set for Europa MMA 1 Co-Main Event
by Chris houten - @mrhouts

A lightweight bout between 2 UK MMA veterans has been confirmed as the co-main event for Europa MMA 1.

5 time Bamma veteran, Jeremy Petley will take on Ultimate Fighter Season 9 runner up Andre Winner in the penultimate bout of Europa MMA 1's debut show in March.

Europa MMA 1 takes place March 22nd, at the Brentwood Centre, Essex and is headlined by Germany’s no.2 and Sweden’s no.2 ranked featherweights Max Coga and Niklas Backstrom. Tickets are now on sale HERE.

Fighting out of London Fight Factory, Canadian born lightweight Jeremy Petley has amassed a 10-4 record since making his pro debut in 2010. A well rounded fighter, Petley has finished 6 of his 10 victories - 2 TKOs, 4 submissions. Petley enters the bout at Europa MMA 1 on a 5 fight win streak, which has seen the 28-year old pick up victories in both Bamma and Made 4 the Cage, defeating notables such as Richie Downes and Dyson Roberts.

Best know for his time on the Ultimate Fighter Series 9, where he came runner up to Ross Pearson, 6 fight UFC vet, Andre Winner enter the bout at Europa MMA 1 hoping to get back to winning ways having lost his most recent bout against rising Polish prospect Mateusz Gamrot at KSW 24 this past September.

Since his release from the UFC, 32-year old Winner has put together a 3-2 run which includes an unsuccessful attempt at the Bamma lightweight title lossing a split decision to Rob Sinclair at Bamma 10. Widely considered one of the best technical boxers in MMA, Winner has finished 6 of his opponents - 3 by submission, 3 by TKO, and hold victories over notables such as Drew Fickett, Jason Ball, Rafaello Oliveira, and Roli Delgado.

"Putting this bout together was a tough challenge, Jeremy has been down to fight since day one and his opponents have change twice since December 2013. Every time we threw a name at Petley he said 'let’s do it'. So when the opportunity came for us to invite Andre Winner to compete on this card, Jeremy was the first guy we wanted to give the opportunity to." a Europa MMA Official said.

"We are incredibly happy to have Andre on the card, I was a big fan of his on the Ultimate Fighter, and in my opinion is still one of the best lightweights in the UK. I know this is an important fight for both guys and I think we can expect a great fight."

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Europa MMA 1 

Welterweights Wendle Lewis and Shaun Taylor Square off at Europa MMA 1

Welterweights Wendle Lewis and Shaun Taylor Square off at Europa MMA 1
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

An intriguing welterweight match up between Wendle 'Nice Guy' Lewis and Shaun 'The Disgrace' Taylor has been added to Europa MMA 1.

Europa MMA 1 takes place March 22nd, at the Brentwood Centre, Essex and is headlined by Germany’s no.2 and Sweden’s no.2 ranked featherweights Max Coga and Niklas Backstrom. Tickets are now on sale HERE.

6-2 Londoner Wendle Lewis enters the bout at Europa MMA 1 hoping to bounce back from a recent defeat at Bamma 14 to Leon Edwards. A 4 fight UCMMA vet, Lewis has finished 4 of his 6 victories - 3 by TKO / KO's, 1 by submission, and has previous trained with the likes of Jason Young, and Brad Pickett at Team Titan.

A pro since 2011, undefeated Lycans prospect Shaun Taylor, has put together a 6 fight win streak since beginning his career to earn himself a place amongst the top 30 welterweight in Europe. A purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Taylor who fights outside of his native Scotland for the first time, has only been the distance once in his career, with 4 of his 6 victories coming by submission, and 1 win coming by TKO. 

Speaking ahead of the bout Europa MMA officials said:

We very happy to have put this bout together, in 14 professional bouts between them, they have only gone the distance 3 times so we can expect this one to end in a finish. We would like to thank Gary Cross of G4 MMA Fighters and Chris Fig of Elite MMA Agency in helping us put this bout together.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Europa MMA 1