WFC 19 Pretorian Report
What a night in the Colosseum! WFC held it's 19th event in the entertainment centre with the historic name and we held our part of the bargain. Arena was packed till the very last seat, we even had to open standing section for everyone to enjoy the show.
Fans from all over Europe witnessed an action packed event that Slovenia has been waiting for. Young prospects opened the show and raised the temperature before the main fights of the night.
Challengers part of the event had some hidden gems in the mix. We started with a rematch from Challengers 4 as Timur Gagaev and Luca Puggioni stepped into the ring for the second time in the WFC history. Gagaev took initiative from the very beginning and did not stop till the end in the third round. Gagaev took the win after Mr. Grant Waterman, WFC referee, stopped the fight. Gagaev improved his WFC score to 2-1 after last night's TKO.
Fight no.2 of the night put the fans on it's feet as they cheered for Slovenian Luka Coz. Coz jumped in the ring in the last second due to his misfortune with air traffic in the last 2 days as he was returning from the States. But Luka proved once again that he's a warrior and did not look for excuses. But he had to pay the price ultimately and Kokora was the one who cashed in the check. Danijel went storming as soon as the bell ringed and it paid off. The two tangled and Kokora somehow luckily fell on Coz in a way that he got the upper-hand immediately. Serbian Kokora, a member of Serbian Army Force, performed a tight submission and finished Luka with a Guillotine choke. But he proved to everyone that he's a gentleman in the ring as he asked the WFC President to offer Luka a new chance in the future due to his bad luck prior to this event. That is what this sport is all about - commeradery.
The third fight came a bit early as everyone expected but it was one of the best fights of the night. Jeffrey Mordan and Islam Sizbulatov pumped up the crowd and conjured primal mixed martial arts spectacle. From the start it looked like Sizbulatov will come out victorious as he took charge from the start of the fight but Mordan proved that he's back in the WFC with a plan. Mordan defended a lot through all three rounds but he also had his moments. His hard chin helped him sustain a lot of damage from Sizbulatov and at the end it paid off. Mordan surprised everyone with a blitz manoeuvre that ended with a Guillotine choke and first ever win in the WFC. Jeffrey was delighted after his win and called out Mr. Mahic for a title shot in the near future.
Last fight before the main battles of the evening was one of the most intense ones. Tamirlan Dadaev and Leonardo Zecchi entertained the crowd from the start and no one could predict who will come out victorious. Zecchi nearly submitted Dadaev in the early stages of round one but that was just the beginning. Fighters exchanged shots and kicks, but no one could get the finish. Second round was a round of turnarounds with Zecchi escaping an armbar and getting the upper position on the ground but he looked a bit tired and could not finish Dadaev with his hands. He tried to armbar his opponent but he made a mistake that led to a submission attempt from Dadaev. At last he succeeded and performed a rear naked choke to end the fight in round 2. Dadaev who lost 13 kilograms before the weigh-in on Friday promised to deliver KO when he returns to the WFC.
Finally we came to one of the climaxes of the night with the WFC lightweight title fight between Vaso Bakocevic and Christian Draxler. Vaso, a known name in Europe and WFC veteran, faced a much less experienced fighter if we count professional, fights but he had to give his all to get what he desired so much. After 3 energetic rounds Vaso was crowned as the undisputed WFC lightweight champion but Draxler proved to be a tought nut to crack. Bakocevic started with body-head combos that led to some devastating right hand punches that seriously rocked Austrian but he kept standing on his legs. Draxler, who had a huge fan base in the arena, proved to everyone that he didn't come to Ljubljana just to spar with Bakocevic and collect the money. But nevertheless, Vaso was a better and more aggressive fighter through all 15 minutes of the fight and he rightfully got the win.
The only K-1 fight at WFC 19 was a middleweight showdown between Mury Derbal and Aleksander Stankov. Mury, a huge fans favorite, is from Algeria but he's been living in Slovenia for a long time now and has many Slovenian fans. Stankov on the other hand is born in Slovenia and was determined that he'll avenge his defeat in the summer. It was a bit weird fight from Mury's standpoint as he deliberately allowed many punches from Stankov. But that's who he is, a man with the iron chin. Stankov tried to punish him but could not deliver the final blow to his opponent. Mury was more aggressive when it counted and notched another win at the age of 38.
Final fight of the night was a middleweight title fight between title holder Svetlozar Savov from Bulgaria and home crowd's favorite Marko Drmonjic. Drmonjic jumped in as a replacement a couple of weeks before the event when it was clear that Bor Bratovz could not compete due to a injury he sustained at the training camp. Both fighters were undefeated till last nights fight but after WFC 19 PRETORIAN Drmonjic score sheet is not perfect anymore. He gave his best, he even tried to submit Bulgarian but came short. After Savov blocked a submission attempt from Drmonjic, he quickly mounted him and showed his expertise. Drmonjic failed to shook him off and Savov immediately went after him. Rear naked choke proved to be the way to go on a night of submission endings.
Svetlozar Savov is still the undisputed WFC middleweight champion and now hold a perfect 5-0 score in the WFC. At the end he called out Bor Bratovz and the two even faced-off in the ring. Looks like that we'll soon see the much anticipated battle between them.
Packed arena, intense fights and slick endings on a night when WFC returned to Ljubljana. See you soon! The jubilee 20th edition of WFC will be even better. You can count on it 'cause we are ready for war!
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