The top French MMA promotion, Ares Fighting Championship, is set to return for the first time in over a month from Le Dôme de Paris – Palais des Sports in Paris, France. Fans of the promotion will be treated to a three-round welterweight main event between French veterans Mickael Lebout and Karl Amoussou.
Fight fans can check out Ares FC 10 with a UFC Fight Pass subscription. The show is scheduled for a start time of 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.
Main Event – Lebout vs. Amoussou
Lebout and Amoussou will headline a seven-fight main card with a bout that is sure to produce fireworks in the promotion’s welterweight division. Both fighters are two of the most experienced French athletes to never fight for the UFC, with both possessing extensive experience competing around the world in promotions such as M-1, Bellator, Brave CF, Cage Warriors, and OKTAGON. The 35-year-old Lebout, a winner in three of his last four and five of his last seven, is scheduled to make his promotional debut. “Ragnar” is not afraid to mix it up in any one area of the fight, and bucks the trend of most French fighters coming from a striking base. His last win came by way of modified omoplata against Joao Bonfim at Mixed Martial Arts Grand Prix.
Amoussou is also not afraid to mix things up on the ground, and he finished his last victory in October 2021 against Andre Ricardo by way of Achilles lock. However, he fell to promotional prospect Abdoul Abdouraguimov in his previous fight at Ares FC 7. While he is a proven finisher, he will have the task of dispatching of a fighter who has been finished just one time in 11 career defeats.
𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊⚡️
[📲 Réservez vos billets pour #ARES10 | https://t.co/WW6l4bN3p3] pic.twitter.com/azrtfmTTpJ
— ARES Fighting Championship (@ares_fighting) December 7, 2022
Co-Main Event – Aida vs. Pena
Moustapha Aida and Demarte Pena will co-main event Thursday’s show with a combined record of 20-2 between them. An Algerian fighter who calls France home, Aida is riding a seven-fight winning streak, the longest of his five-year career to date. His lone defeat came at the hands of Carlos Eduardo de Azevedo at 100% Fight 36. However, he bounced back and got the win back over de Azevedo at Fight Surpass 1 three years later with a knee knockout.
Pena, meanwhile, made his Ares FC debut earlier this year at Ares FC 5 after a 12-fight run in Africa’s Extreme Fighting Championship. Pena opened his career 10-0 as the company’s bantamweight champion but had a pair of wins over Irshaad Sayed overturned by the South African Institute for a Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. While an appeal of the SAIDS ruling initially cleared him of any wrongdoing, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) overturned the SAIDS decision, invalidated his second win over Sayed, and resulted in a four-year ban from competition. “The Wolf” came to Ares FC earlier this year, but fell to the French phenom Taylor Lapilus due to first-round stoppage to strikes.
Rest of the Card
The remainder of Thursday’s Paris card will feature a handful of rising European prospects in intriguing style matchups. Unbeaten Scottish lightweight prospect Mark Ewen (3-0) will look to stay perfect when he meets France’s Khairulla Khairullaev (4-1) in the feature fight. Ewen has yet to see the third round in his young career and has finished each of three wins in the second round. He also had a 10-3-1 amateur career competing namely in the United Kingdom. Khairullaev, meanwhile will be returning for the first time in nearly three years. His bout with Ewen was originally intended to take place at Ares FC 3 back in February. Now he will look to regain the momentum he created at Ultimax Fight Night 3 where he finished Dmitri Shuarnadze in the fourth round.
Other main card bookings will see Italy’s Paolo Anastasi look to pick up his third win in as many pro fights against 2-2 Paulin Begai. African prospects Yves Antibe Zanga and Youssouf Binate are also scheduled to clash in the featherweight division. Professional debutants Vlad Gutu and Marcio Martins are also scheduled to clash. Talented Uzbekistan heavyweight Azamat Nuftillaev (12-1-1) will open the main card against Brazil’s Moésio Brandão (7-4). Nuftillaev is coming off the first defeat of his pro career against French wrestler Slim Trabelsi in a heavyweight title fight at Ares FC 8.
Ares FC 10 Results
Main Card
Mickael Lebout def. Karl Amoussou via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Demarte Pena def. Moustapha Aida via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mark Ewen def. Khairulla Khairullaev via Knockout (right hook) at 3:44 of Round 1
Paulin Begai def. Paolo Anastasi via TKO (strikes) at 2:05 of Round 1
Youssouf Binate def. Yves Antibe Zanga via Submission (guillotine) at 4:13 of Round 1
Vlad Gutu def. Marcio Martins via Knockout (punch) at :35 of Round 1
Azamat Nuftillaev def. Moésio Brandão via TKO (punches) at 3:55 of Round 3
Preliminary Card
Yacine Haddad def. Shakhbulat Abuev via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Benjamin Šehić def. Badr Medkouri via Submission (hammer lock) at 1:25 of Round 1
Aboubakar Younousov def. Tom Wright via Submission (RNC) at 1:35 of Round 1
Mohamed Ramdane def. Anthony Laurent via TKO (punches) at 4:33 of Round 2
