Ansgar Fighting League (AFL) 19 is set to take place Saturday, March 30, 2019, inside the Centro Insular De Deportes in Los Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. So far six bouts have been announced with three title fights topping the card. AFL 19 can be seen on Fite TV and is an organization to watch in 2019 in Europe.
Trio of Title Fights
Bruno vs. Cordero
Headlining the card is a flyweight title fight between Tapology’s #1 Western European flyweight, Raymison Bruno as the Brazilian is set to take on top-ranked Kevin Cordero. Bruno (11-1) is coming off of an impressive win over former Bellator and BAMMA Pietro Menga, who was 13-0 at the time. Bruno is a grinder and pushes his opponents to the very last bell, usually getting the nod in his direction. Look for Bruno to push the pace on Cordero and earn the title via dominate decision.
Kevin Cordero is a finisher with his last three fights in a row ending by first-round finishes. Cordero’s best shot at defeating Bruno is to put him away early. The deeper the fight goes, the better shot for Bruno to outwork Cordero. He is coming off of a first-round submission victory over Lucas Tenorio at SlamArena 2 in October 2018. Cordero’s only recent blemish is a first-round defeat to Liam Gittins on the Cage Warriors 96 card which was headlined by the Pimblett vs. Bak match-up. If Cordero has his way, look for a knockout of the night potential kind of finish.
Pesic vs. Padilla
In a division that hopefully more organizations will pick up on, the super lightweight title. is vacant and will be earned by either Dragan Pesic or Lionel Padilla. Pesic is a veteran with over 30 professional bouts under his belt with appearances all over Europe. Most of Pesic’s finishes victories have come in the first round. Padilla has only six professional fights (5-1) but has won his last two AFL appearances and should have the home-field advantage against Pesic. Padilla can finish or go the distance to earn his hand raised so it will be interesting to see Padilla’s approach.
Martins vs. Ruiz II
The trio of title fights will begin with a battle for the bantamweight title as Thiago Martins battles Zebenzui Ruiz. The Brazilian of 11 professional wins, Martins, wins very quickly and very effectively. Martins’ last victory is a 15 second knockout of 20 plus professional victor Marc Gomez Sariol at World Fight Tour 7. He also has a handful of first-round submissions making him a threat to finish Ruiz no matter where the battle takes place.
Ruiz is just as dangerous with the finishes. This is without a doubt is the pre-show favorite for Fight of the Night. He’s submitted his last three opponents in a row either in the first or second round. To add to the psychological edge, Ruiz has a victory over Martins back in 2016 at a Madness Fighting Championship show. Though a lot can change in a few years, that’s a mental edge Ruiz will be sure to utilize.
