Karate Combat’s Gods of Olympus

In keeping with the theme of exotic locations, Karate Combat staged its latest event at the historic Zappeion Courtyard on Saturday in Athens, Greece. The show’s look and feel represented a cross between a video game and the underground fights featured in the 1991 film “Lionheart,” which starred Jean Claude Van Damme. Strange as it may sound, it was exactly what organizers were shooting for.

A social media post from Karate Combat indicated that interest in the event and the traffic it created led to some technical difficulties with the stream.

The knockouts were plentiful, just as they were at the promotion’s offering in Miami on April 26. Karate Combat commentator Bas Rutten was quick to point out that the events were examples of the effectiveness of karate under the right set of rules. While takedowns are limited to single-legs, trips and throws, striking from both fighters is permitted on the ground for up to five seconds. Upkicks and modified ground-and-pound ensure the action rarely stalls.

Given the striking pedigree of the karate black belts competing under the Karate Combat banner, a TKO on the ground becomes just as likely as a finish on the feet. Also, high-velocity kicks and shin-to-shin contact create conditions where injuries similar to the one suffered by Anderson Silva against Chris Weidman at UFC 168 are more likely to occur. That was the case in the Karate Combat “Olympus” main event between four-time British national champion Jerome Brown and 11-time French national champion Davy Dona, who suffered a fight-ending leg injury in the first round of their encounter. Karate Combat representatives indicated Dona was progressing as hoped at this early stage of his recovery.

In other action, Achraf Ouchen defeated Franklin Mina by first-round TKO; Myrza-Bek Tevuev knocked out Deives Ferreras in the first round; Yaser Sahinteken put away Wellington Barbosa by second-round TKO; Igor De Castaneda knocked out Fioravante Valentino in the first round; Sarah Ait Ibrahim dispatched Fabiola Esquivel in a second-round TKO; and Reda Messaoudi knocked out Nikos Kosmas in the third round.

Edward Carbajal serves as the lead MMA analyst for Frontproof Media and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a brown belt in Ishin Ryu Karate. He has covered combat sports since 2014 and has been a fan of MMA since UFC 1. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel or at his website TheBlogBoardJungle.com.