Things are heating up ! pic.twitter.com/SJOtON9vkn
— ares_fighting (@ares_fighting)
December 11, 2021
After taking a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ares
Fighting Championship returned for its sophomore event on Saturday
at Marcel Cerdan Arena in Paris, France.
The
Ares FC 2 headliner was a showdown between former Ultimate
Fighting Championship 125-pound title challenger Wilson Reis
and fellow UFC alum Taylor
Lapilus. The contestants tested each other’s skills on the feet
in the first frame. In front of a partisan crowd, Lapilus denied
all his opponent’s takedowns and dropped Reis (24-12, 0-1 Ares)
once. The Brazilian immediately bounced back and swept his opponent
in hopes of securing a rear-naked choke. Lapilus escaped the tough
spot and retaliated with some punches, finishing the round on
top.
In the second frame, Lapilus scored with knees to his opponent’s
body before staying true to his “Double Impact” nickname and
knocking down Reis with a clean two-piece combination. The
Brazilian answered with a rare gogoplata attempt that didn’t come
to fruition. In the third stanza, Lapilus put his quick hands to
work, but Reis answered with a takedown, racking up control time
from top position without seriously threatening the Frenchman.
Ultimately, all three cageside judges sided with Lapilus (17-3, 2-0
Ares), who earned a unanimous decision with 29-28, 29-27, and 29-27
scorecards.
In the co-main event, former Brave Combat Federation welterweight
titleholder Abdoul
Abdouraguimov locked horns with Luciano
Contini in a 177-pound catchweight affair. Contini (13-4, 0-1
Ares), who stepped up on short-notice to replace Alex
Lohore, attacked with some calf kicks early in Round 1.
Abdouraguimov (13-1, 1-0 Ares) took some time to become accustomed
to his foe’s approach and then shot for a successful double-leg
takedown. Once on the mat, “The Lazy King” immediately jumped on
his Contini’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke. After a few
seconds of futile resistance, Contini tapped at the 1:57 mark of
Round 1.
#ARES2 pic.twitter.com/sqVLqEQgb7— Dazz (@Dazz59)
December 11, 2021
Earlier, Cage Warriors vet Louis
Glismann (9-2, 1-0 Ares) subdued UFC vet Emil Meek
(9-6, 1NC; 0-1 Ares) with an armbar 60 seconds into their
welterweight affair; Daguir
Imavov (13-3-1, 1-0 Ares) outpointed short-notice replacement
David-Tonatiuh
Crol (8-7, 0-1 Ares) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27) at lightweight; in a 135-pound clash, Gisele
Moreira (10-5, 1-0 Ares) stopped Rizlen
Zouak (5-4, 0-1 Ares) with a body kick and punches at the 2:57
mark of the second stanza; and London Shootfighters standout
Felix
Klinkhammer (6-0, 1-0 Ares) overcame Karim Rabei
(6-3, 0-1 Ares) via first-round kneebar in their welterweight
affair.
#ARES2 pic.twitter.com/ljmi3gsiYj— Dazz (@Dazz59)
December 11, 2021
On the preliminary card, Benjamin
Sehic (4-0, 1-0 Ares) tapped Aboubacar
Bathily (7-4, 0-1 Ares) via armbar at the 4:19 mark of Round 1
at heavyweight; Wissem
Akhmouch (5-0,1-0 Ares) submitted Cherif
Drame (3-1, 0-1 Ares) with a rear-naked choke 3:26 into the
second frame of their middleweight affair; Marsel
Sychev (2-0, 1-0 Ares) stopped Pawel
Biernat (2-1, 0-1 Ares) with some powerful shots at the 2:58
mark in Round 1 in the heavyweight division.
The card opened with Temerlan
Azizov (2-0, 1-0 Ares) upending Patrik
Martinik (2-1, 0-1 Ares) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28) in the flyweight division.