Tag: ARES 2

ARES 2 postponed as European promotion exercises caution during coronavirus crisis

ARES FC is the second MMA promotion in as many days to postpone an event over coronavirus concerns.

Euro-African promotion ARES Fighting Championship has announced the postponement of its upcoming event, ARES 2, because of concerns arising from the coronavirus outbreak.

ARES 2 originally was set to take place Friday, April 3 at Forest National-Vorst National Arena in Brussels, Belgium, and stream live on UFC Fight Pass.

Now the promotion has made the decision to push the event back to the end of October, by which time hopefully coronavirus will be under control and the risk to competitors and spectators will have subsided.

“ARES Fighting Championship is sad to announce that the ARES 2 event scheduled for the 3rd of April in Brussels will be postponed to the 30th of October 2020,” said an official statement from the promotion.

“The coronavirus epidemic raises serious questions about contagion in closed environments. We don’t know at this stage how the situation will evolve. The health of our audience, international fighters, and staff is our utmost concern, and we are not willing to take any unnecessary risks.

“With the full support of all our partners involved and that of the ARES fighters themselves, ARES Fighting Championship has therefore decided to postpone the event.”

[lawrence-related id=496836,496720,496328]

The promotion added that tickets already purchased for ARES 2 will be valid for the rescheduled date. There’s also an option for fans to be reimbursed.

The postponement of ARES 2 comes in the wake of postponement of “ONE Championship 110: Heart of Heroes,” set for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on March 20. That event has been provisionally rescheduled for June 26.

Senegalese powerhouse ‘Reug Reug’ brings the muscles to Brussels for ARES FC 2

Senegalese heavyweight Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane is back, and he’s looking to hand an undefeated Russian prospect the first loss of his career at ARES FC 2.

Senegalese heavyweight wrecker [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] – better known by his fighting nickname, “Reug Reug” – is back, and he has his sights set on an undefeated Russian.

Kane (1-0) kicked off his professional MMA career in spectacular fashion at ARES 1 as he threw his opponent Sofiane Boukichou around the cage before finishing his man via TKO early in the second round.

Now “Reug Reug” is ready to return, and the 27-year-old powerhouse will take on undefeated opposition in the form of Russian heavyweight [autotag]Ivan Romanov[/autotag] at ARES 2 at the Forest National-Vorst Nationaal arena in Brussels, Belgium on April 3.

Romanov (5-0) picked up a hat-trick of victories in 2019, but his fight with Kane represents his first against an opponent with a winning record. There’s a fair chance it’ll be the first time he’s faced a man with the sort of wrestling power “Reug Reug” possesses, too.

The two heavyweights will go toe-to-toe in Brussels on a card that features a clutch of familiar names to hardcore MMA fans.

Belgian middleweight favorite [autotag]Maaren Wouters[/autotag] (11-7) will take on French UFC veteran [autotag]Nordine Taleb[/autotag] (15-7), while former UFC flyweight title challenger [autotag]John Moraga[/autotag] (19-7) takes on another former UFC athlete, [autotag]Hector Sandoval[/autotag] (15-4).

Also added to the card is another former UFC athlete, heavyweight [autotag]Luis Henrique[/autotag] (12-6), who will look to bounce back into the win column after his split-decision loss to KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries in September 2019. The Brazilian will take on Lithuanian [autotag]Teodoras Aukstuolis[/autotag] (11-5).

But, despite the pedigree of the fighters being added to the card, there’s a fair chance the fight that will garner the most interest is the one featuring the hulking 1-0 man-mountain from Dakar.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.