Image Credit: Cage Warriors
After recent signings of Mickael Lebout and Karl Amoussou, ARES FC continue their quest of strengthening the roster with well-known European talent as well as taking on board young prospects. The promotion’s sporting director, Fernand Lopez, announced 6 more French fighters expected to debut for the promotion in a video message on Twitter.
David “The“ Bear (9-1) ended his 15 month layoff in March of this year when he fought at Cage Warriors 113, the last notable event which took place before the COVID-19 outbreak. Much discussed ring rust was no issue as Bear utilized his high-level grappling to defeat Nathan Jones via unanimous decision and fueled by his last victory, the BRAVE CF veteran claimed “the bear is out of hibernation“ on his Instagram page.
A name which resonates on the European MMA scene is Anthony “La Masse“ Dizy (13-3), currently ranked #2 among French featherweights. The Bellator and Cage Warriors veteran joins the ARES FC roster coming off a third round TKO of Zalimbeg Omarov under the M-1 Global banner, the promotion under which he collected his last 2 victories. Fans may also recall his outing with Colin Fletcher back in 2016.
Yanis “The Galactic“ Ghemmouri (7-1) became the LFC featherweight champion in 2017 and also captured the SFS bantamweight championship in November 2018, when he defeated Daniel Hortegas via unanimous decision. The 25-year-old Lyon native, however, has not fought since and is looking to extend his previous 4-fight win streak. He expects his return to the cage to come in late 2020 after a long layoff.
Also waiting for his long awaited return to competition is Cage Warriors veteran, Faycal Hucin (11-4). The French middleweight of Moroccan descent last competed in April 2017, when he took the trip down to Brazil to take on Paulo Thiago in the co-main event of Fight2Night 2. Hucin lost via armbar in the first round and has not stepped in the cage since.
The latest additions to the ARES FC female roster are French fighters Laetitia Blot and Emma Gongora, both transitioning to MMA from other martial arts disciplines. Laetita Blot, popular judoka and wrestler, is multiple-time French national champion with gold medals from both world and European championships in judo. Emma “Valkyria“ Gongora, a decorated kickboxer with a win at GLORY 35, has also been signed.
The promotional debut dates and opponents are yet to be set for these new roster members. The upcoming ARES FC events are expected to take place in France, due to ongoing travel restrictions.