After two successful US events Final Fight Championship (FFC) returns to Europe and is soon to hold an event in Linz, Austria on September 23 with very interesting fight card and excellent bouts such ad Filip Pejić and Ahmed Vila in a featherweight title match and Darko Stošić and Dion Staing in an epic title heavyweight clash.
Dion Staring vs. Darko Stošić
Darko Stošić will finally fight for the heavyweight belt at FFC 26. One of the best Serbian fighters was supposed to fight the FFC champ in Springfield, Massachusetts, but the Dutch fighter sustained an injury while training and the whole fight had to be rescheduled.
That evening Stošić fought Manny Murillo and finished the match via TKO. His impressive performance just confirmed his contender status.
European MMA veteran Dion Staring will defend his belt for the second time after his defeated Andreas Kraniotakes via decision in his last match. Staring has been having a lot of injury issues lately, but this time he managed to get ready for the match with dangerous Darko Stošić.
Ahmed Vila vs. Filip Pejić
After his debut in which he shocked Viktor Halmi and thus won the lightweight division belt, Ahmed Vila will drop a few kilos in order to fight for the featherweight title. This 20 year old fighter from Sarajevo has been preparing for this move for some time now and his team believes this division will suit him much more. Ever since he became a member of the FFC roster, Vila has been training in Sweden’s Tristar gym with excellent fighters such as Alexander Gustafsson and Ilir Latifi.
However, in this new division the Bosnian fighter will have to face one of the best fighters in this region and former UFC member, Filip Pejić. Croatia’s ‘Nitro’ is aware he did not do his best in the world’s most famous Octagon. Some said he burned out because he was too hyped while others claim he had to drop too many kilos. But whatever the reason was, this defeat is now behind him and he decided to return to the FFC with eye on the belt.
The bout between those two fighters will surely be interesting for all the MMA fans with a potential of being one of the best matches the regional scene has to offer.
The ‘Terror’ is back
One of the most interesting Croatian fighters, Ivica ‘Terror’ Trušček is also return to the ring at FFC 26 in Linz. The ATT member already has eight FFC bouts with seven wins and one loss and in Austria he is to fight very dangerous German fighter Abuspiyan Magomedov. This will be a very tough test for this Croatian MMA veteran with 60 professional bouts. He had his last match at FFC 21 in Rijeka last year when he KO’ed Bulgaria’s Vladislav Kanchev. Before that he demolished former FFC champ Viktor Halmi at FFC in Zagreb.
Abusupiyan ‘Abus’ Magomedov is an excellent young fighter fighting under Germany’s banner but he is originally from Russia. His current score is 13 wins and 3 losses. At FFC 26 in Linz he will step into the FFC ring for the first time.
Aleksandar Ilić’s FFC debut
Darko Stošić will not be the only Serbian fighter fighting at FFC 26 in Linz for his fellow countryman Aleksandar Ilić will also make his FFC debut. Aleksandar Ilić will fight one of Austria’s best MMA fighters Florian Harringer. Harringer fought at FFC 19 Linz last year when he was defeated by Fitim Ukelli after a really exciting match. This time Harringer will seek redemption in front of this hometown audience again.
MMA part of the event at TipsArena in Linz will start with a featheweight match between Marko Burušić and Russia’s Arbi Mezhidov.
Danenberg and Veseli for the inaugural -77 kg match
The kickboxing part of the FFC 26 event will be no less impressive since Shkodran Veseli and Eyevan Danenberg are to fight for the inaugural welterweight kickboxing title in the main event. This match was already scheduled earlier this year, but the Albanian fighter with Swiss passport was forced to step out. Danenberg also proved himself to be a top fighter when he inked a deal with Glory and made his Glory debut a couple of weeks ago when scored a victory in their ring.
Brestovac back in the action
FFC champ Mladen Brestovac will also fight in the FFC ring again at FFC 26. He will defend his belt against Spain’s Damian Garcia. This will be Mladen’s tenth match for the Croatian promotion where he scored nine impressive wins. The Croatian fighter had his last FFC match in Daytona Beach when he defeated Steven Banks.
Former FFC champ Samo Petje will also make his comeback after a heavy loss to Greece’s Meletis Kakoubavas. This time he will fight Leo Žulić who is to make his FFC debut. Petje already announced that he will try to get hold of the title again and Žulić will be the first obstacle on his way back to the top.
The audience in Linz will also have a chance to see an excellent heavyweight title bout between Bosnia’s fighter with Swiss fighter Enver Šljivar and Croatia’s Tomislav Čikotić. So far Šljivar fought at FFC only once when he defeated Igor Mihaljević while Čikotić has a score of 3 wins and 2 losses. The member of Ameno Gym from Split, Croatia, was defeated in his last match by Romania’s Sabastian Cozmanca in Greece and he will try to return to the winning path at FFC 26.
Three excellent young Austrian fighters in action
The local audience at TipsArena in Linz will surely come to support their local fighters. FFC 26 will feature three Austrian fighters including Kristijan Franjić who is to face Croatia’s Ivan Bilić with three FFC fights under his belt. Other names include Thomas Letner and Rene Wimmer who will face France’s Cheick Sidibe.
FFC 26 – Linz
September 23, 2016 – TipsArena Linz, Austria
MMA:
Dion Staring (NED) vs. Darko Stošić (SER), HW – title bout
Filip Pejić (CRO) vs. Ahmed Vila (BiH), -66kg – title bout
Ivica Trušček (CRO) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (GER), -80 kg
Florian Harringer (AUT) vs. Aleksandar Ilić (SER), -84kg
Marko Burušić (CRO) vs. Arbi Mezhidov (RUS), 66kg
TBA vs. TBA
KB:
Shkodran Vseli (ALB) vs. Eyevan Danenberg (NED), -77kg – title bout
Mladen Brestovac (CRO) vs. Damian Garcia (SPA), HW – title bout
Samo Petje (SLO) vs. Leo Žulić (GER), -70kg
Tomislav Čikotić (CRO) vs. Enver Šljivar (SUI), HW
Kristijan Franjić (AUT) vs. Ivan Bilić (CRO), -77kg
Thomas Leitner (AUT) vs. Gabriel Bozan (ROM), -70kg
Rene Wimmer (AUT) vs. Cheick Sidibe (FRA), -85kg