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Samedov overcomes Ilunga for GFC crown

Zabit Samedov was dominant in the first part charging down his opponent with deadly combinations and kicks.

Dubai — Zabit Samedov, Gokhan Saki and Ismael Lazaar were among the big winners at the Global Fighting Championship (GFC3) held at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Friday.

Held before a near-packed tennis stadium, the popular Gokhan Saki won by unanimous decision against his Romanian challenger Sebastian Ciobanu in their Heavyweight Superfight as the Turkish fighter from the Netherlands opened his GFC debut with a win.

All credit to Sebastian Ciobanu for surviving a first round knockout at the hands of Gokhan Saki as the Romanian managed to go the full distance of three rounds. However, a flurry of punches and jabs towards the end of the third round tilted the advantage in favour of Gokhan Saki to take his career record to 82 wins.

The second Heavyweight Superfight ended in disappointment for Fatih Ulusoy as he broke his left shin within the opening 30 seconds of his bout against Ismael Lazaar. “I am disappointed, but I am ready for a re-match. We are warriors and we will never give up,” Fatih told a cheering crowd. But the night’s honours went to Zabit Samedov as he outlasted his German/Congolese opponent Danyo Ilunga over four rounds. After the mandatory three rounds of three minutes each, the judges could find hardly anything to separate the two fighters, thus necessiating a fourth round.

Zabit Samedov was dominant in the first part charging down his opponent with deadly combinations and kicks. But it was Danyo who showed better composure towards the end. However, when the judges decided it was by a mere one point in favour of Zabit Samedov.

The fighter from Azerbaijan won Dh1 million for his efforts along with the right to qualify for the season-ending $1 million GFC Grand Prix that will be held at a yet to be disclosed location.

Supported by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) with sponsorship from Tampa Middle East, Grosvenor House, Zengo Restaurant, Prize Fighter, Amika Dubai, Amazing Thailand, Bong event management and Rely BTL Production and Services, the fourth round of the series is scheduled to be held in the middle of May.

Presented by Golden Cage Promotion and Events, GFC-3 was part of a series of fight nights involving some of the best mixed martial arts, kick boxing and muay thai exponents from across the world.