Here Are Europe’s Top 35 MMA Amateur Fighters Right Now

There are currently many highly interesting up-and-coming amateur MMA prospects coming out of Europe. In this article, we take a closer look at 35 of the biggest amateur MMA standouts the continent has to offer right now!

* This story will only focus on the up-and-coming amateur fighters out of Europe, thus no pro fighters will be considered. The athletes in this list are presented in alphabetical order. 

Souhil Arezki 🇫🇷

At just 19 years old, Frances Souhil Arezki isn’t even close to being in his prime – yet he shows a lot of promise.

After reaching the quarter finals in the 2021 IMMAF European Junior Championships he returned last year with an even more impressive effort, winning the silver medal in the European Championships and a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships.

With a 16-3 record as well as being a French MMA champion, the future seems bright for Arezki.

Nell Ariano 🇫🇷

Heavyweight Nell Ariano is a judo black belt as well as a 2022 French and IMMAF European Champion.

He has competed for the title in Cage Warriors Academy South East and on top of that, seems to be more than a decent model.

Nina Back 🇸🇪

Swedish MMA fighter Nina Back was scheduled to make her professional debut in December, but the fight unfortunately fell through.

The Swede has amassed an impressive five silver medals in different IMMAF Championships as well as a silver medal in the 2021 Swedish Submission Wrestling Championships and multiple gold medals in diverse BJJ competitions.

Arlind Berisha 🇳🇴🇦🇱

In another case of a top prospect who’s pro debut has been postponed Norwegian-Albanian Arlind Berisha blew the brakes off of his opponents en route to a gold medal in the 2021 IMMAF World Cup, and has added to that with titles in Cage Warriors Academy South East and Gorilla Fight Club.

With a 100% finish rate Berisha is about as red-hot as prospects could be.

Sani Brännfors 🇫🇮

Finn Sani Brännfors is a two-time IMMAF World gold medalist and one of her nation’s hottest prospects.

With wins over the likes of Millie Eriksson and an impressive grappling base, Brännfors looks to be a force to be reckoned with.

Roan Crocker 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Roan Crocker made headlines in the 2022 IMMAF World Championships when he went as the lone representative for Wales – without a team! He ended up receiving assistance from Team England and made it all the way to the finals.

The Welshman would end up getting beaten by the super-skilled Roman Kiziuk in the light heavyweight finals but still impressed many.

On top of that he’s a title holder in Cage Warriors Academy Wales and has a gold medal in the 2018 IMMAF European Championships at welterweight.

Magdalena Czaban 🇵🇱

Five-time IMMAF Champion (2x World, 3x European) Magdalena Czaban has done just about everything one can do in amateur MMA and will therefore move on to fight professionally.

”I am excited about what professional MMA brings,” Czaban recently wrote on Instagram.

As she’s still to make her pro debut, she still has a place on this list.

Anna Gaul 🇩🇪

Anna Gaul had a brilliant career as a youth fighter with two gold medals at the IMMAF European Championships in 2018 and 2019, and a gold medal at the IMMAF world championships in 2019.

Alex Gill 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Welshman Alex Gill sports an amateur record of 13-4 and landed on everyone’s radar during the 2022 IMMAF European Championships when he defeated impressive and seasoned opponents to capture a bronze medal in the competitive welterweight division.

On top of that he also holds an amateur lightweight title in Golden Ticket Fight Promotions.

Patrick Habirora 🇧🇪

On a list of rising stars, ”The Belgian Bomber” Patrick Habirora stands out as one of the brightest. Habirora blew through the competition in the 2022 IMMAF European Championships, knocking out every opponent (including the above mentioned Alex Gill) to secure a spot in the finals. The Belgian would have to be content with a silver medal, but he still emerged as one of the most talked about fighters from the tournament.

On top of that Habirora has won amateur titles in respected promotions such as Levels Fight League, Evolve Combat League and most recently; AEF. Habirora hits hard and brings a noticeable swag with him into the cage every time.

David Hervias 🇪🇸

David Hervias is one of the brightest shining stars in Spanish MMA.

With his gold medals at the Spanish Championships, European Championship and bronze at the World Championship, the ”Boogey Man” is a force to be reckoned with in the European scene.

Oleksandr Huliaiev 🇺🇦

Oleksandr Huliaiev is a name to remember.

At 20, the young and hungry Ukrainian youth has already won gold as a lightweight at the 2022 IMMAF World Championships as well as a bronze medal at the 2021 IMMAF Senior & Junior World Cup.

He was also the last person to defeat the scorching hot polish prospect Michal Borowski – who is making his move to pro.

Movsar Ibragimov 🇧🇪

Sporting an impressive 19-4 amateur record; Movsar Ibragimov is yet another impressive talent from Belgium. He recently won the bantamweight amateur title in AEF, adding to his existing amateur title in Soko Fighting Championship.

Most impressive however is his gold medal run in the 2022 IMMAF European Championships, as well as his bronze medal in the World Championships.

Ali-Al Jasim

Sweden’s Ali Al-Jasim is definitely a fighter to keep your eyes on in the future.

Besides representing the National Team at the 2022 IMMAF World Championships and winning the Swedish National Championships 2023, Al-Jasim competed in Swedish organization Fight Club Rush and comes from a good win against Raham Kafaei at FCR 16 on June 3.

With an exciting fighting style and a slew of finishes he seems to be destined for great things and isn’t even near his prime yet.

Songul Karatorak 🇩🇪

Germany’s Songul Karatorak is definitely a fighter on the rise.

After two wins at the 2022 IMMAF World Championships, the 21-year-old strawweight lost the finals against Matilda Bachurina via split decision to secure a silver medal.

Besides her MMA career, Karatorak participated in various grappling competitions all around Europe.

Roman Kiziuk 🇺🇦

Ukrainian light heavyweight Roman Kiziuk definitely seems to be a prospect that will go far, as he has already one-upped his 2022 European silver medal with a gold medal at the World Championships later the same year. With impressive wins over the likes of Alik Domnich and Roan Crocker, Kiziuk seems to be the real deal.

Michal Kopas 🇸🇰

While Slovakian Michal Kopas hasn’t competed extensively at the IMMAF championships, he is undoubtedly an amateur to remember.

With an excess of ten first round finishes, an overall record of 22-5-1 and being a five time champion in the Slovakian MAMMAL, Kopas will definitely make waves when he goes pro.

Ivan Kurelaru 🇺🇦

When Ivan Kurelaru made it to the quarter finals in the 2019 IMMAF World Championships it seemed like that was a taste of things to come, which turned out to be the case. Since then he has won the 2021 World Cup and won silver in the 2022 World Championships.

Competing at lightweight, Kurelaru is constantly facing tough opposition, and comes out on top more often than not.

Rafael Kveldstad 🇸🇪

Swedish middleweight Rafael Kveldstad has only lost via split decision, which is a testament to how skilled he is.

Aside from strong showings in Sweden, over the likes of Alfred Olsson, Kveldstad also won silver in the 2022 IMMAF World Championships, though many felt that he deserved the judges nod against Tagir Machmudov.

Tagir Machmudov 🇨🇿

Tagir Machmudov is a submission magician and has been tapping out high-level amateurs for years.

He won the 2022 IMMAF European Championships after submitting every opponent and seemed like he would do the same in the World Championships until he reached the finals and went three tough rounds with Rafael Kveldstad. This Czech middleweight is a problem.

Ze Machado 🇵🇹

Portugal’s Ze Machado is constantly in the mix at the IMMAF’s and has so far scored a 2019 European silver medal and made it to the quarter finals in the 2018 and 2021 World Championships.

With a fast-paced, exciting fighting style he’s definitely worth taking note of.

Josefine Modig 🇸🇪

Sweden’s Josefine Modig is one of the absolute best amateur fighters from Sweden with a gold in the IMMAF World Cup, a silver in the World Championships as well as gold in the Swedish championships.

Still to make her long-awaited pro debut, the strawweight has lately been competing in grappling but definitely still has a well deserved spot on this list.

Izzy McGaughey 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Izzy McGaughey is a young and promising MMA fighter from England who won a silver medal in her first international competition at the 2022 IMMAF World Championships in Serbia.

She faced the tough Finnish fighter Iiris Nihti in the finals and lost via split decision.

Nikolija Milosevic 🇸🇪

With several gold medals in IMMAF World and European championships, both for Sweden and Serbia, bantamweight Nikolija Milosevic is one of the absolute best amateurs in Europe. Besides

Hopefully we will see the Swedish 26-year-old turn to professional MMA in the near future.

Spartak Mikayelyan 🇦🇲

Having recently won gold in the BJJ competition AJP Tour Georgia, Spartak Mikayelyan once again made his home country of Armenia proud.

Mikayelyan truly broke out to the mainstream in the 2022 IMMAF Junior World Championships when he scored all first round finishes, including an upset over Bahrain’s Gimbat Magomedov, to secure a spot in the finals.

He ended up losing a razor-thin split decision to Ivan Yushchenko, but remains a young fighter to keep one’s eyes on.

Iiris Nihti 🇫🇮

After a tough start of her amateur MMA career, Iiris Nihti from Finland became the IMMAF 2022 lightweight world champion as she defeated the skilled Izzy McGaughey via split decision.

Benoit Prigent 🇫🇷

One of the few fighters on the list that hasn’t gone the IMMAF amateur route, France’s Benoit Prigent has amassed a perfect record of 9-0.

”La Noix” won the 2022 French MMA Championships at lightweight and has also won the amateur featherweight title in Cage Warriors Academy South East.

Though the majority of his wins have come via decision, Prigent still remains a very promising young fighter.

Liam Pitts 🇸🇪

Even though Sweden’s Liam Pitts just fought his second amateur MMA fight at FCR 16 he is already a big name in the country’s MMA scene and even more famous beyond the borders of the sport.

On July 1 he will return to action to compete at the first Allstars Fight Night in Stockholm.

Alexandre Rita 🇵🇹

Alexandre Rita took a silver medal at the 2022 IMMAF World Championship and has been a staple of the IMMAF’s during the last few years with a well-rounded MMA game and tons of potential.

Paddy Rutledge 🇪🇸

Paddy ”The Problem” Rutledge won the 2021 Spanish MMA Championships and is ranked by Tapology at fifth place among all active featherweights in western Europe.

Recently he’s been making a name for himself in the Spanish promotion WoW and will surely live up to his nickname when he makes the move to pro.

Tim Schwabe 🇩🇪

The number one ranked amateur heavyweight in all of Germany and Western Europe; Tim Schwabe, secured a win in the finals of the 2022 German Amateur MMA Championships at just nine seconds into the first round!

He then took part in the 2022 IMMAF World Championships and made it all the way to the finals, where he ended up losing to the heavily favoured Rasul Magomedov. Still though, Schwabe can undoubtedly make waves at heavyweight.

George Staines 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

With a nickname like ”Star Killer”, it’s clear that Englishman George Staines aims high. He won gold in the 2022 IMMAF European Championships and bronze in the World Championships in the same year.

On top of that he also holds amateur titles in Almighty Fighting Championships and UK Fighting Championships. Just 22 years of age, Staines is all smiles outside of the cage – but a real beast inside of it.

Andrii Stoian 🇺🇦

Despite just being 20 years old Andrii Stoian has already scored several impressive medals for Team Ukraine. He at first wound up on many people’s radars after winning silver in the 2019 Youth World Championships.

After that Stoian moved up to featherweight winning silver in the 2021 Junior World Championships and gold in the 2022 European Championships. With wins over the likes of Benjamin Hajijan and Michal Kopas, Stoian will surely go far.

Omar Tugarev 🇫🇮

Finland’s Omar Tugarev is a real talent who represented the Finnish National Team as well as fought in CAGE MMA. He won gold in the 2022 European Championships where he submitted almost every opponent.

Tugarev also holds a win over Finland’s most credentialed amateur fighter ever; Eemil Kurhela.

Astrid Vikgren 🇸🇪

Swedish Astrid Vikgren is a bright shining star on the European MMA scene. This past September she won a well deserved silver medal at the European Championships in 2022.

In her last fight at Battle of Botnia she defeated Piia Marja Huhtamaki via submission in the third round.

Read more: Rising Stars: Here Are Sweden’s 25 Hottest MMA Prospects in 2023

Read more: Top 15 hottest fighters in OKTAGON MMA

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