The 2015 IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA have come to a close in Las Vegas with athletes representing the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland taking home a total of seven medals between them.
Taking part in last year’s inaugural Amateur Championships, Team UK took home four medals (three bronze, one silver) under the guidance of Middleweight UFC veteran Luke Barnatt who served as the team’s coach.
UFC veteran John Maguire took over as coach for 2015 and saw the UK bring home gold for the first time with Lightweight Josh Ellis claiming the top prize at 155lbs via a unanimous decision win over Finland’s Tuukka Repo, and following a TKO win to knock out Ireland’s Kiefer Crosbie earlier in the competition, James Duckett took silver in the Middleweight final after a second round submission loss to the USA’s Brendan Allen who finished the bout with a rear-naked-choke.
2015 saw the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland taking part for the first time with ROI Featherweight Frans Mlambo earning a unanimous decision win over Sweden’s Joel Moya, and Sinead Kavanagh, who snatched victory with a fierce knockout win in the earlier rounds, was left with silver when she was finished by way of TKO by Canada’s Jamie Herrington in the Women’s Featherweight final.
Team UK, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland medalists:
Carl McNally (Northern Ireland): Bronze – Bantamweight
Denis Perry (Northern Ireland): Bronze – Lightweight
Sinead Kavanagh (Rep. of Ireland): Silver – Women’s Featherweight
Frans Mlambo (Rep. of Ireland): Gold – Featherweight
Jake Constantinou (UK): Bronze – Welterweight
James Duckett (UK): Silver – Middleweight
Josh Ellis (UK): Gold – Lightweight
Full final day results:
125 lbs Male Championship Bout
IURIE BEJENARI (FRANCE) DEF. SEDAR ALTAS (SWEDEN) via TKO (Strikes), 01:58 of Round 3
Bronze Medallists: Braydan Graham (New Zealand), Sambath Khun (Canada )
115 lbs Female Championship Bout
MINNA GRUSANDER (FINLAND) DEF. MARIA VITTORIA COLONNA (ITALY) via Unanimous Decision
Bronze Medallists: Sarah Archer (New Zealand), Codie Wareham (USA)
135 lbs Male Championship Bout
JOSE TORRES (USA) DEF. NURTILEK KONASHOV (KAZAKHSTAN) via Submission (Guillotine), 02:31 of Round 1
Bronze Medallists: Carl McNally (Northern Ireland), Marco Zannetti (Italy)
125 lbs Female Championship Bout
MICOL DISEGNI (ITALY) DEF. ANJA SAXMARK (SWEDEN) via Unanimous Decision
Bronze Medallists: Natalie Jean Ausmeier (South Africa), Michaela Dostalova (Czech Republic)
145 lbs Male Championship Bout
FRANS MLAMBO (IRELAND) DEF. JOEL MOYA (SWEDEN) via Unanimous Decision
Bronze Medallists: Yurii Bosyi (Ukraine), Nicolas Ott (France)
135 lbs Female Championship Bout
LUCREZIA RIA (ITALY) DEF. LUCIE BERTAUD (FRANCE) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage), 3:00 of Round 1
Bronze Medallists: Kimberley Defiori (USA), Lisa Engelke (Sweden)
155 lbs Male Championship Bout
JOSH ELLIS (UNITED KINGDOM) DEF. TUUKKA REPO (FINLAND) via Unanimous Decision
Bronze Medallists: Davide Gregorio La Torre (Italy), Joeshwa Mortada (Lebanon)
145 lbs Female Championship Bout
JAMIE HERRINGTON (CANADA) DEF. SINEAD KAVANAGH (IRELAND) via TKO (Punches), 02:27 of Round 3
Bronze Medallists: Julia Dorny (Germany), Lindsay Lawrence ( USA)
170 lbs Male Championship Bout
WILLIAM STARKS (USA) DEF. ALEXANDER MARTINEZ (CANADA) via Unanimous Decision
Bronze Medallists: Patryk Ruta (Poland), Jake Constantinou (UK)
185 lbs Male Championship Bout
BRENDAN ALLEN (USA) DEF. JAMES DUCKKET (UK) via Submission (RNC), 2:02 of Round 1
Bronze Medallists: Imad Alhowayeck (Lebanon), Juho Laitinen (Finland)
205 lbs Male Championship Bout
SAEID MIRZAEI (CANADA) DEF. TENCHO KARAENEV (BULGARIA) via Submission (Kimura), 1:11 of Round 1
Bronze: Paolo Anastasi (Italy), Denis Perry (N Ireland)
265 lbs Male Championship Bout
ZDENEK LEDVINA (CZECH REPUBLIC) DEF. TRAVIS EDWARDS (USA) Walk Over (due to injury)
Bronze: Marcin Kalata, Allan Guichard
265+ lbs Malet Championship Bout
KEVIN SZAFLARSKI (POLAND) DEF. MOKHAMMAD MALAGOV (KAZAKHSTAN) via TKO, 01:27 of Round 1
Bronze Medallists: Vlad Mavrodin
