Iuri Fernandes’ route to the title began against Alexandru Burduja. Just two and a half minutes into the fight, the Portuguese fighter found the liver of his Moldovan opponent and brought their quarterfinal to an early end.
In the semifinals, the 25-year-old faced Yuri Farcas, who had eliminated hometown favorite Eduard Aleksanyan with a series of calf kicks. Once again, Fernandes needed little time to find the decisive shot. Around two minutes into the opening round, he caught Farcas with a right high kick as the Romanian stepped forward to close the distance.
Farcas beat the count, but had not fully recovered. Seconds before the bell, a left hook set up a right straight that sent him crashing back to the canvas and sealed Fernandes’ place in the final.
On the other side of the bracket, Italy’s Ramon Quirini stopped Ali Nasir with calf kicks in the second round of their quarterfinal. In the semifinals, he met Sharif Ben Mabrouk, who had survived a gruelling extra-round battle with GLORY fighter Emin Özer to advance.
The demanding quarterfinal did not stop the 22-year-old Ben Mabrouk from taking the fight to the 21-year-old Italian. After another war of attrition, however, it was Quirini who edged the contest on the judges’ scorecards and booked his place in the final.
Fernandes immediately targeted Quirini’s already compromised leg in the tournament decider. The Portuguese fighter of Cape Verdean descent needed just one minute and 20 seconds to finish the Italian, bringing his total time in the ring to just under seven minutes as he crowned himself the inaugural SENSHI Light Heavyweight Grand Prix champion.
Third place for Sharif Ben Mabrouk
Unlike most modern kickboxing tournaments, SENSHI also stages a third-place fight. The practice reflects the promotion’s roots in the Kyokushin tradition, where tournament competitors continue fighting to determine the final podium positions.
Ben Mabrouk returned to the ring for a third time to face reserve fighter Pablo Molina, who had already fought twice himself. The Tunisian defeated Molina to secure third place, ending a demanding night with two victories from three fights and a place on the SENSHI Grand Prix podium.
