SENSHI has made the fight card official for SENSHI 31 Gladiators, an event built around a one-night, eight-man Grand Prix in the 70 kg division at the Ancient Theatre of Plovdiv in Bulgaria on May 30 plus extra fights.
The tournament format is simple and demanding at the same time. Eight lightweights enter, and the winner must get through three rounds of competition in a single evening to leave with the SENSHI Grand Prix title at 70 kg. SENSHI has framed the bracket as the first-ever Grand Prix in that division for the promotion.
The quarterfinal pairings are Angelo Volpe of Italy against Samo Petje of Slovenia, Aissam Chadid of Morocco against Bruno Gazani of Brazil, Hirokatsu Miyagi of Japan against Dragomir Petrov of Bulgaria, and Zehao Zhang of China against Marian Lapusneanu of Romania. Two reserve bouts are also part of the structure, with Maxence Vignais of France meeting Wiktor Kolaja of Poland, and Mihail Velchovski of Bulgaria facing Andres Casado of Spain.
Once those opening matchups are complete, thebracketmoves into semifinal one, semifinal two, a third-place bout, and then the final, which means the lightweight field will shape the whole pace of the night. For viewers, that gives the event a tournament rhythm rather than a standard stand-alone fight card.
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Outside the Grand Prix, SENSHI 31 includes three super fights. Bart Horvath of England is booked to face Bulgaria’s Atanas Bozhilov at 75 kg, while heavyweight contests list Mantas Rimdeika of Lithuania against Thomas Bridgewater of the Netherlands and Daniel Dinev of Bulgaria against Romanian veteran Benjamin Adegbuyi at 95+ kg. SENSHI has also highlighted Bozhilov, Dragomir Petrov, and reserve fighter Mihail Velchovski as part of the Bulgarian group preparing for the event.
The setting adds another layer to the story. The Ancient Theatre of Plovdiv, also known as the Roman theatre of Philippopolis, dates to the 1st century AD, remains in use today, and is widely described as one of the best-preserved Roman theatres in the world. Historicreferencesalso note that it hosted public spectacles in antiquity, including gladiatorial contests, which makes the SENSHI 31 branding an easy fit for the site. Previously, SENSHI 26 was hosted at the same venue.
In the weeks leading into the event, SENSHI brought selected fighters to an invitational camp in Varna under Albert Kraus and Andy Souwer. According to thepromotion, 26 professional fighters from 16 countries took part, with several names linked directly to the May 30 card.
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Source: LowKickMMA.com
