SENSHI 31 Results: Angelo Volpe Captures Lightweight Grand Prix Championship

Italian phenom Angelo Volpe put on the performance of a lifetime to become SENSHI’s inaugural lightweight Grand Prix champion, while a litany of highlights sent the Bulgarian fans home happy.

SENSHI’s return to Plovdiv’s Ancient Theatre delivered an electric night of the very best kickboxing action from top to bottom on Saturday, 30th May.

Volpe’s toughest assignment came in the opening round versus former lightweight king Samo Petje, where many expected whoever won to go all the way. The tightly contested bout saw the Italian survive a difficult opening fray before fighting back with volume in the second and third stanzas to pick up the unanimous decision and advance.

Volpe then outdid Brazilian brawler Bruno Gazani in a one-sided affair. He ensured he was first to attack through the nine minutes of action. Volpe employed low kicks and heavy punching combinations that continually frustrated his tattooed nemesis before earning the unanimous decision win to advance to the final.

Meanwhile, eventual finalist Dragomir Petrov began his tournament campaign by lighting up Hirokatsu Miyagi with counters and heavy pressure across the opening bout, much to the delight of his hometown supporters.

“Drago” then followed up with a memorable encounter with Marian Lapusneanu, who outworked Zehao Zhang previously. Petrov and Lapusneanu fought tooth and nail and could not be separated after three rounds. That prompted an extra round, adding to the tension and atmosphere. But the native Bulgarian could not be denied as he took a licking and kept on ticking to advance to the final.

With all the marbles up for grabs, Volpe was clearly the fresher of the two individuals, and it wouldn’t take long for that to become a factor. Just over halfway through the opening round, Volpe smacked Petrov with a heavy low kick which sent him down to the ground and unable to return to his feet, succumbing to the evening’s damage as Volpe achieved greatness.

Elsewhere, Thomas Bridgewater put on a four-round thriller with Asdren Gashi in a 95kg superfight. The pair were too close to call after three rounds, and “The Gladiator” proved he was just that bit hungrier as he used flying knees and spinning strikes to earn the unanimous decision.

Also in heavyweight action, Daniel Dinev earned his biggest win yet over veteran Benny Adegbuyi in a three-round firefight, dropping the Romanian scrapper twice in one of the fights of the night.

Hometown hero Atanas Bozhilov also picked up a record 12th victory on SENSHI as he outworked UK’s Aaron Slimane in a narrow contest by unanimous decision on two week’s notice in 75kg action.

For all the action including reserve bouts and third place outcomes, check out the full results below:

SENSHI 31 – Full Results:

Eight-man lightweight Grand Prix quarter-finals:

Angelo Volpe def. Samo Petje via unanimous decision
Bruno Gazani def. Aissam Chadid via unanimous decision
Dragomir Petrov def. Hirokatsu Miyagi via unanimous decision
Marian Lapusneanu def. Zehao Zhang via unanimous decision

Semi-Finals:

Angelo Volpe def. Bruno Gazani via unanimous decision
Dragomir Petrov def. Marian Lapusneanu via unanimous decision after extra round

Final:

Angelo Volpe def. Dragomir Petrov via first-round KO (referee count).

Grand Prix third-place:

Bruno Gazani def. Marian Lapusneanu via second-round KO (referee count).

Grand Prix Reserve Fight Results:

Wiktor Kolaja def. Maxence Vignais (28-29, 28-30, 29-29 draw after three rounds. Extra round 10-9×3 for Kolaja)
Andres Casado def. Mihail Velchowski via second-round KO (left hook, two knockdown rule)

KWU Superfights:

Atanas Bozhilov def. Aaron Slimane via unanimous decision (75kg)
Thomas Bridgewater def. Asdren Gashi via unanimous decision after extra round (95+kg)
Daniel Dinev def. Bobby Adegbuyi via unanimous decision (95kg+)