Ireland Get Off to Bright Start at 2022 European Championships

Ireland got off to a mixed start as the 2022 IMMAF European Championships got underway today. Six fighters took to the IMMAF cage today in hope kickstarting their run at a medal.

Jake Ngai was the first Irish representative to make the walk. The Satori BJJ fighter is competing in the Junior Bantamweight division and was smooth like butter when the fight hit the ground. Advancing position and landing some solid ground and pound to eventually force the referee to step in.

Andrew Barrett was the first of two SBG Tullamore fighters to enter the cage. He faced a tough Swedish opponent in Aria Afrasibi, who was no easy match-up forcing Barrett to dig deep in order to get the decision win. Ronan Deegan added a win soon after, overcoming a bigger and difficult opponent in Dmytro Kovalchuk. His high fight IQ was evident as he mixed things up and put a beating on his opponent, finishing the fight with an armbar in the third round.

Ethan Guerin and Conor McCarthy both looked good at the start of their fights but were caught in submissions in the opening round.

Closing out the day for Ireland was Jordan Bradshaw. He faced the highly touted Soltan Veliiev from Ukraine in a feathweight match-up. The C-MAC fighter looked stellar in the cage, landing strikes on his opponent before mixing things up and showing off some of his grappling. Ultimately, he finished the fight via triangle choke late in the fight.

𝗧𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 triangle choke from Bradshaw 🔥

🇮🇪 Incredible comeback from Jordan Bradshaw finished off with the submission at the #2022MMAEuros. pic.twitter.com/odHsm8jZus

— IMMAF (@IMMAFed) September 27, 2022

That rounds out the action for Ireland’s first day at the European Championships. The schedule of Irish fighters can be found below. The brackets can be followed live on Smoothcomp and the fights can be watched live on IMMAF.tv.

Day 2 Irish Schedule

Juniors / Men / M: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs): Yaman Mjahed (Spain) vs. Jake Ngai (Ireland)

Juniors / Men / M: Welterweight 77.1 kg (170 lbs): Jordan Scully (Ireland) vs. Giorgio Boccali (Italy)

Seniors / Men / M: Featherweight 65.8 kg (145 lbs) (Day 2): Daniyal Shamkhalov (Sweden) vs. Jordan Bradshaw (Ireland)

Juniors / Men / M: Middleweight 83.9 kg (185 lbs): Marco Cardillo (Ireland) vs. Tagir Machmudov (Czech Republic)

Seniors / Men / M: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs): Ross Quearney (Ireland) vs. Oleksandr Stepenko (Ukraine)

Seniors / Men / M: Lightweight 70.3 kg (155 lbs): Ivan Kurelaru (Ukraine) vs. Andrew Barrett (Ireland)

Seniors / Men / M: Featherweight 65.8 kg (145 lbs): Oleksandr Kovalenko (Ukraine) vs. Keith Keogh (Ireland)

Seniors / Men / M: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs): Mosvar Ibragimov (Belgium) vs. Karl McConway (Ireland)

Seniors / Men / M: Lightweight 70.3 kg (155 lbs): Vojtech Khol (Czech Republic) vs. Ronan Deegan (Ireland)

Seniors / Men / M: Middleweight 83.9 kg (185 lbs): Josué Ngandu (Belgium) vs. Tristan Barnett (Ireland)

Juniors / Men / M: Middleweight 83.9 kg (185 lbs): Yevhenii Tsymbal (Ukraine) vs. Ben McCrory (Ireland)

Seniors / Men / M: Featherweight 65.8 kg (145 lbs): Moshe Aladi (Israel) vs. Damien McKenna (Ireland)