It was a tough competition for both Irish teams who went to Bulgaria to compete at the IMMAF European Championships.
After a great opening day of fights where Irish MMA went 7-1 (with the one loss being a Republic of Ireland vs. Northern Ireland match-up), this meant that no less than 10 Irish fighters occupied slots in the quarter finals in their respective weight divisions.
However it was a rough day yesterday with only Daryl Clarke (pictured above in blue) progressing to the semi finals.
But then today his run in the competition came to an end as he lost via rear naked choke in the first round to Portuguese fighter Mario Moreno.
Being knocked out of the competition in the semi finals means Clarke will walk away with a bronze medal, the only medal captured by Irish MMA at this years competition. A learning curve for all involved and no doubt everyone will return better than before.
Here are the results from the preliminary round
Bantamweight - 135lbs - Prelim Round
Darren O'Brien (IRL) def. Jack Corr (NI) via armbar, rd 1.
Daryl Clarke (IRL) def. Markus Jeskanen (FIN) via TKO, rd 1.
Featherweight - 145lbs - Prelim Round
Austin Lynch (IRL) def. Jorge Ramirez Alpizar (MEX) via unanimous decision.
Jack Maguire (IRL) def. Davide Baggieri Martini (ITA) via unanimous decision.
Gerard Corr (NI) def. Tobias Bolin (SWE) via KO, rd 1.
Lightweight - 155lbs - Prelim Round
Scott Harvey (IRL) def. Ermal Hadribeaj (ALB) via unanimous decision.
Ciaran Clarke (IRL) def. Gonçalo Formiga (PRT) via RNC, rd 1.
Here are the results from the quarter finals
Flyweight - 125 lbs - Quarter Final
Hussain Abdulla (BHR) def. David Fogarty (IRE) via unanimous decision
Berik Shinaliyev (KZT) def. Dylan Kennedy (IRE) via unanimous decision
Bantamweight - 135 lbs - Quarter Final
Adam Amarasinghe (UK) def. Darren O'Brien (IRE) via unanimous decision
Daryl Clarke (IRE) def. Florian Doskja (ALB) via split decision
Featherweight - 145lbs - Quarter Final
Hoger Salih (SWE) def. Austin Lynch (IRE) via unanimous decision
Delyan Georgiev (BUL) def. Jack Maguire (IRE) via unanimous decision
Eemil Kurhela (FIN) def. Gerard Corr (NI) via unanimous decision
Lightweight - 155 lbs - Quarter Final
Ziiad Sadaily (RUS) def. Scott Harvey (IRE) via unanimous decision
Tobias Harila (SWE) def. Ciaran Clarke (IRL) via KO, rd 2.
Heavyweight - 265lbs - Quarter Final
Daniele Matiddi (ITL) def. Scott Trelford (NI) via split decision
