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| (Image Source: Karate.com) |
The trailblazing full-contact professional karate league Karate Combat has officially kicked off its twelve-episode third season featuring former UFC champions Georges St. Pierre and Lyoto Machida in "season sensei" roles, four world title fights, the introduction of a new weight class and the highest number of finishes of any Karate Combat season with more than half of the fights ending inside their distance.
Produced in the promotion's trademark "fightsport of the future" style with real fights taking place inside incredible backdrops generated by Epic Games' Unreal Engine, the season's virtual arenas are slated to take viewers on a journey through time - from the 1800s Japan to the near future via 1980s Hollywood. The title fights for the said season include Josh "The Preacher" Quayhagen of Louisiana, USA defending the welterweight championship belt against Dominican rival Dionisio "El Capitan" Gustavo and Edgar "The Bear Slayer" Skrivers of Latvia putting the lightweight belt on the line against Brazilian contender Bruno "The White Dragon" Assis.
Taking the helm as host and lead commentator is living legend and UFC Hall Of Famer Bas Rutten who is joined by Josh Palmer and Layla Anna-Lee. New to the third season are highly-respected Mark Goddard as senior official, real-time action analysis from Robin Black and reportage from former WWE announcer Andrea Ocampo. "This is the biggest season of Karate Combat ever - and I'm not just saying that. From having GSP and Lyoto Machida involved through to the fights themselves, this season takes things to a whole new level for Karate Combat. I think this season is going to blow people away," said Karate Combat President Adam Kovacs. Here is the confirmed lineup of fighters competing in Karate Combat Season 3.
• Josh ‘The Preacher’ Quayhagen (USA) - Karate Combat World Welterweight Champion
• Edgar ‘The Bear Slayer’ Skrivers (Latvia) - Karate Combat World Lightweight Champion
• Dionicio ‘El Capitan’ Gustavo (Dominican Republic) - Karate Combat Welterweight Championship Challenger
• Bruno ‘The White Dragon’ Assis - Karate Combat Lightweight Championship Challenger
• Samuel Ericsson (Sweden) - “Joe Rogan’s favorite karateka”, social media sensation
• Eoghan Chelmiah (Ireland) - Irish prospect on mission to “do for karate what Conor McGregor did for MMA”
• Kamariddin Khasanov (Tajikistan) - Survived kidnap and some dangerous Russian streets thanks to karate
• Myrza-Bek Tebuev (Russia) - Russian black belt with a PhD in Aeronautical Propulsion (aka “Rocket Science”)
• Nikolasz Lukacs (Hungary) - This 18-year-old is the youngest fighter in Karate Combat history
• Abdesslam Ameknassi (Morocco) - An outstanding competitor on the Middle East / North Africa circuit
• Kevin Azouz (France) - Member of the French national team, brother of Tommy Azouz
• Luiz Victor Rocha (Brazil) - Fighting out of Team Pitbull, Rocha is one of the most experienced fighters on the roster
• Teeik Silva (Brazil) - Colorful and charismatic, Silva is not a fighter you’ll soon forget
• Ilies ‘The Madman’ Mardhi (France/Morocco) - French contender from one of the toughest neighborhoods in Paris
• Vasilii Antokhii (Russia) - The amateur circuit found him too hot to handle; Karate Combat gave him a home
• Davy Dona (France) - ‘The Hurricane’ is a gritty veteran from the same mean streets as Illies Mahdi
• Christina Kavakopoulou (Greece) - A member of the Greek national team and a superb technician
• Zsolt Habda (Hungary) - This special forces veteran is a man on a mission
• Gabriele Cera (Italy) - Born, raised and trained in the shadow of Rome’s Colosseum, Cera is a modern-day gladiator
• Tommy Azouz (France) - Brother of Kevin Azouz and, like him, a member of the French national team
• Deivis Ferreras (Dominican Republic) - Known as ‘The Rage’, Ferreras earned his nickname for good reason.
• Maximilian Mathes (Germany) - Ordained monk Mathes lives in a Buddhist monastery and considers himself a new-era samurai
• Jorge Perez (Dominican Republic) - Army captain Perez is one of the most explosive fighters in Karate Combat - don’t blink.
• Nikos Gidakos (Greece) - A member of the Greek national team and two-time European bronze medallist
• Gilmarcos de Bastos Jr (Brazil) - Born and raised in a karate family, he began training at three years old
• Gabriel Brito (Brazil) - ‘The White Tiger’ is a five-time national champion in his native Brazil
• Jessica Linhares de Paula (Brazil) - Shorin-Ryu black belt and two-time bronze medallist in the Pan-American Championships
• Velimir Jeknic (Serbia) - The towering Jeknic spent several years in Dubai training police in hand-to-hand combat
• Alberto Ramirez (Venezuela) - Venezuela national team member
• Mouley Oudoud (France) - Shotokan black belt and law student
• Reda Messaoudi (Morocco) - ‘The Cobra’ has an infamously powerful spinning back kick
• Shahin Atamov (Azerbaijan) - This unassuming Azeri has dynamite in both hands. One mistake, the fight is over.
• Bryan Van Waesberghe (Belgium) - A young obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led ‘The Rampage’ into karate
• Omaira Molina (Venezuela) - NYC resident ‘La Guerrera’ is a Venezuelan national champion and member of the national team
• Erica Santos (Brazil) - Ten-time Brazilian national champion, nine-time Pan-American champion
• Vitalie Certan (Portugal) - Certain lives life on the edge - he’s a stuntman as well as professional fighter
• Daniel Viveros (Ecuador) - ‘The Black Diamond’ represents Ecuador on the national team
• Lazar Kukuličić (Montenegro) - ‘The Lion King’ is a Balkan regional champion looking to put Montenegro on the map
• Tim Ha (Czech Republic) - This young Czech newcomer has set his sights on lightweight champion Skrivers
• Fabiola Esquivel (Mexico) - Mexican national squad member, Shito-Ryu black belt
• Ana Villanueva (Dominican Republic) - Five-time Pan-American champion, teammate of welterweight contender Gustavo
• Jesús Paucarcaja Lopez (Peru) - Jesús fights in memory of his brother, who trained him until the day he was shot dead in front of him
• Nikita Yanchuk (Russia) - Russian national champion in Kudo, one of the karate world’s hardest fighting competitions
Those who are not yet familiar with Karate Combat may binge-watch previous events on its official YouTube channel and see for themselves why full contact karate is the next big thing in the combat sports world today. Karate Combat Season 3 is aired weekly in the Philippines and Asia on beIN Sports with uncut and uncensored catch-up episodes uploaded every Sunday, 7:00 pm ET (Monday, 7:00 am Philippine time) on Karate Combat's official YouTube channel and at Karate.com. For more information and updates on Karate Combat, visit Karate.com and Karate Combat's social media accounts.
