Sweden
Five fighters to watch at tonight’s Zone Pro League card in Sweden
While everyone is looking forward to Saturday night’s big fights at UFC 273, there’s also some local combat sports action going down in Sweden in just a few hours. Tonight at 6 p.m. CEST, Zone Pro League returns with another event in Gothenburg that features pro MMA as well as Muay Thai bouts in the cage.
The entire event is broadcasted by Swedish news magazine Göteborgs-Posten.
Zone Pro League, previously called The Zone, was one of the first bigger MMA promotions in Sweden between 2008 and 2015 before going on a six year hiatus. The early events featured multiple local stars who later went on to sign with the UFC, with Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson being the most notable one.
Zone’s CEO is Swedish MMA pioneer August Wallén, who played a significant role in bringing mixed martial arts to Sweden and getting the sport regulated. Wallén is also the founder and honorary president of the international governing body IMMAF.
Tonight’s card includes various prospects, and as Frontkick’s team is heading down to Gothenburg, we figured we should introduce some of them. Most of these fighters might be quite unknown to international fight fans – but worth to keep an eye on as they continue to gather more experience on the professional stage.
Robin Sundlöf – Muay Thai
Robin Sundlöf. Photo by Stefan Romare / Frontkick.online
First up is hometown fighter Robin Sundlöf. He might’ve gone a bit under the radar, however Sundlöf is slowly but surely starting to prove himself as one of Sweden’s most skilled Muay Thai fighters, racking up a 3-1 professional record thus far.
Sundlöf will take on Ali Mehrvash, who’ll be making his pro debut, in a 63.5 kg matchup.
Addis Saljevic – MMA
Moving on, we have an interesting coincidence as Addis Saljevic – Khamzat Chimaev’s very first MMA opponent – will be fighting on the card. While Chimaev is looking to secure his biggest UFC win yet against Gilbert Burns, Saljevic is looking for his first professional win after falling short in his pro debut on Zone Pro League’s most recent event this past fall.
Saljevic, a former soccer player, will be taking on Robin Enontekiö in a middleweight contest.
Addis Saljevic. Photo by Stefan Romare / Frontkick.online
Robin Enontekiö – MMA
Speaking of the devil, Robin Enontekiö is definitely the dark horse here. As an amateur, Enontekiö didn’t really stand out that much in the beginning. He won some, lost some and also had long periods of inactivity. However, he seems to have turned the corner judging by his most recent bouts.
Enontekiö represented Sweden’s national team at the IMMAF world championship in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and surprised many by going all the way to the final in the light heavyweight division after three wins that included a brutal knockout as well as a nasty armbar.
In the final match, Enontekiö fell short to undefeated Russian Dzhamal Medzhidov and ended up with a silver medal. Now, he’ll start his pro career at middleweight with Addis Saljevic standing in his way.
Robin Enontekiö. Photo by IMMAF / stock image
Emma Stonegård – Muay Thai
For the Muay Thai fans, Emma Stonegård is definitely one to watch on the Zone Pro League card. She’s a three-time Swedish champion and has been a member of Sweden’s national team for quite a while, with silver medals at the IFMA world and European championships as her most notable accomplishments internationally.
Stonegård fought for Swedish promotion Muay Thai For Life just a month ago, defeating world champion Anna Rantanen to move to 2-0 as a pro. Now, she’ll square off against Sofia Kosunen in a 69 kg catchweight bout.
Emma Stonegård. Photo by Johnathon “SWEEP” Michael / Frontkick.online
Renato Vidovic – MMA
In the main event, hometown favourite Renato Vidovic returns to the cage for his forth professional MMA bout.
Vidovic, a two-time IMMAF European champion, lost his pro debut back in 2019. However, he immediately went back to the drawing board and has since returned to the win column with two impressive finishes. After securing a TKO stoppage win against Eli Elias the same year, Vidovic went on a two year layoff before returning on Zone Pro League’s most recent fight card where he submitted Jakob Valegren after a thrilling bout.
Now, Vidovic will be looking to move to 3-1 by defeating Rohullah Yousofi in tonight’s flyweight headliner.
Renato Vidovic. Photo by Stefan Romare / Frontkick.online
Frontkick.online will be providing real-time coverage of Zone Pro League before UFC 273 begins, follow the live results right here.
Read more: Zone Pro League 2: Fight Card, Start Time, How to Watch
