Tag: Oumar Kane

ONE Championship 127: Mauro Cerilli bounces back with TKO victory in Singapore

Italian heavyweight contender Mauro Cerilli bounced back into the win column with a second-round finish at ONE Championship 127.

Former Cage Warriors heavyweight champion [autotag]Mauro Cerilli[/autotag] bounced back into the win column in the main event of ONE Championship 127 in Singapore to move one step closer to a heavyweight title rematch with Brandon Vera.

Cerilli lost out to Vera via first-round knockout in his first title challenge back at ONE Championship 85 in November 2018. He bounced back with a victory over Alain Ngalani, but fell to another defeat as he was outpointed by Arjan Bhullar at “ONE Championship: Century – Part 2” in October 2019.

But, after taking more than a year away from the cage, “The Hammer” returned in fine form to snap [autotag]Abdulbasir Vagabov[/autotag]’s 10-fight winning streak and push himself back into the heavyweight title conversation.

Vagabov pushed the pace from the opening bell as he chased the backpedaling Cerilli around the cage, with the Italian throwing the occasional one-two combination to give the Russian contender a moment’s pause.

Vagabov continued his forward pressure, but Cerilli ensured that the Russian’s winging punches connected with nothing but air as he kept out of punching range, then connected with occasional counter-strikes of his own. After struggling to make an impact with his strikes, Vagabov then turned to his wrestling, but his takedown attempts late in the round were well defended by the big Italian.

After a frustrating first round, Vagabov started Round 2 noticeably slower and Cerilli took full advantage in the opening seconds as he stepped into range and slammed a powerful kick to the Vagabov’s left hamstring. The impact of the shot forced the Russian down to his hands and knees and Cerilli moved in and unloaded a trio of clean left hands to his grounded opponent before referee Olivier Coste dived in to stop the bout at the 26-second mark.

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.

Video: Huge Senegalese wrestler ‘Reug Reug’ sends opponent airborne in impressive debut

Oh my.

First impressions are important, especially in the sport of mixed martial arts.

This weekend, Senegalese wrestler [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] made a statement in his professional MMA debut at ARES 1, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Kane (1-0), better known as “Reug Reug,” had never competed in MMA before, but his skills seemed to translate well in his inaugural outing. Standing at a bulky 6-foot-4, Kane was agile and displayed good cardio for as long as the bout lasted.

Taking on a veteran of 10 fights in France’s [autotag]Sofiane, Kane tossed his fellow big man to the mat like a WWE-style bodyslam, which you can check out below:

When Boukichou threatened with a Kimura off of his back, Kane escaped in unorthodox, but effective fashion, lifting Boukichou off the ground and slamming 6-3, 233 pounder to the canvas to break the hold. Check this out:

A gritty opponent, Boukichou was able to make it out of the first round. However, his luck would run out in Round 2, when he was met by a bull-rushing Kane.

Not letting his opponent off the hook, Kane chased Boukichou around the cage until he finally was able to finish the Frenchman with punches at the 1:20 mark of the second.

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.

[vertical-gallery id=391998]