World Championships day 3: Several Swedes punch their ticket to the semis!

2023 IMMAF World Championships. Photo: Stefam Romare

Today, six Swede’s entered the cage in the eight-finals at the 2023 IMMAF World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

The World Championships will take place between Monday November 20 to Saturday November 25. Sweden is represented by an interesting National team featuring 10 fighters – three female and seven male – competing in ten weight divisions.

Click “Next” to see the Swedish results for day three (Wednesday)!

Astrid Vikgren dominates

Astrid Vikgren. Photo: IMMAF

Swedish strawweight Astrid Vikgren entered the competition as she took on Paulina Konik from Team Poland. Vikgren used her length and reach to keep her opponent at the end of her strikes, controlling the distance well and switching stances. No matter what Konik tried Vikgren seemed to be a step ahead, clearly controlling the fight an winning a comfortable decision.

She will now face the World silver medalist Guiliany Perea in the semifinals.

• Astrid Vikgren def. Paulina Konik via unanimous decision

Sebastian Palacio Gomez brutally stopped

Photo via Instagram

Sebastian Palacio Gomez took on Patrick Habirora Team Belgium in the welterweight quarterfinals.

In the even first round, Habirora came out swinging, landing a few good punches. The Swede worked for a takedown against the cage but didn’t get much damage done. In round two Palacio Gomez worked on a takedown but ”The Belgian Bomber” defended well before landing a heavy punch that knocked out the Swede.

Palacio Gomez should be proud of his run in the 2023 World Championships, with two solid first-round stoppage wins against Greece and Ireland.

• Patrick Habirora def. Sebastian Palacio Gomez via KO punch), round 2

Rafael Kveldstad gets it done in the first

Rafael Kveldstad. Photo Stefan Romare

Last World Championship’s junior middleweight silver medalist Rafael Kveldstad entered the competition as he took on Juho Suvanto from Team Finland.

The Swede started strong with solid kicks from distance. Suvanto answered with two good straight punches from southpaw stance, but when the fight took to the ground the Finnish fighter had no answer. The Swede quickly secured a tight arm-triangle that eventually forced Suvanto to tap.

Kveldstad will face Ukraine’s Yaroslav Shulha in the semifinals.

• Rafael Kveldstad def. Juho Suvanto via submission (arm-triangle), round 1

Millie Eriksson dominates completely

Millie Eriksson. Photo: Stefan Romare

Bantamweight Millie Eriksson entered the competition to take on Katharina Rychkova from Team Austria.

The Swede went all in from the start with her sharp striking. She mixed kicks and straight punches well before taking the fight to the ground. In the second round, Eriksson was close to finishing the fight on the ground as she landed heavy ground-and-pound and had a tight rear-naked-choke, however, the tough Austrian fighter survived.

In round three, Eriksson continued to dominate on the ground and after the final bell she stood as the winner via unanimous decision.

Millie Eriksson will face Finland’s Sani Brannfors in the semifinals.

• Millie Eriksson def. Katharina Rychkova via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Hanna Palmquist wins gruelling fight

Photo: IMMAF

Flyweight Hanna Palmquist entered the competitions by taking on Marta Pankiv from Team Ukraine.

In a gruelling first round, the Swede pressed her opponent against the cage as she landed her heavy left over and over. The second round continued in the same fashion, with neither fighter getting much done.

In the third, Pankiv went for broke and was able to take Palmquist down several times. After the final bell, the Swede stood as the winner via unanimous decision. She will now face the tough Chloe Gowen from England in the semifinals.

• Hanna Palmquist def. Marta Pankiv via unanimous decision

Najib Adams

Photo Chris Önnerby

Light heavyweight Najib Adams took on Team Serbia’s Dzevad Baltic in the quarterfinals.

Adams did a solid job at keeping the fight on the outside, landing hard shots while avoiding being taken down. When the Swede was finally taken to the canvas he bounced back to his feet, landing the better strikes at a distance.

After three straight rounds Adams won a unanimous decision.

Sahand Shokohi’s third fight cancelled

Sahand Shokohi. Photo via Instagram (@sahandshokohi)

Bantamweight Sahand Shokohi has yet to enter the cage as his third straight fight got cancelled.

His quarterfinals opponent Shamil Alikhanov, from Team Bahrain, had to pull out due to a failed med exam, which gave Shokohi a place in the semifinals.

2023 IMMAF World Championships

The 2023 IMMAF World Championships include tournaments for Seniors and Juniors, and holds six weight divisions for female athletes, from atomweight to lightweight, and ten for male athletes, from strawweight to super heavyweight.

Check out the Swedish results below!

World Championships day 1: All four Swedes advances!

World Championships day 2: Dramatic day for Team Sweden

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