Australian Fighting Championship is set to return for show number 17 this Saturday night. The event will take place at local fight venue, the Melbourne Pavilion. The twelve fight line-up will be headlined by a much anticipated heavyweight title clash between rising Sydney based star, Tai Tuivasa, and former UFC/One Championship fighter, James McSweeney of England.
Tuivasa (6-0), fighting out of Lions High Performance Centre, is currently undefeated and will be defending the title for the first time after winning the strap, via a quick KO stoppage of previous champion Brandon Sosoli earlier in the year (fight video).
His Brit opponent, McSweeney (15-14), is now based on the Gold Coast and is fighting out of his own gym – McSweeney Fight Factory. The 35 year-old is coming off a first round TKO stoppage loss to current KSW Champion Karol Bedorf, which took place in March of this year in Poland.
Both main event fighters are renowned for their striking prowess. Tuivasa remains undefeated, while McSweeney comes into this match undefeated on Australian soil, 5-0, and 6-0 against Australian based opposition. McSweeney will without a doubt serve as Tuivasa’s biggest test to date.
On the main card, the lightweight tournament returns for its semi-final matches. TUF Smashes veteran Ben Wall will be taking on experienced veteran Rob Hill. In the other semi-final bracket, team Integrated’s Gokhan Turkyilmaz is matched up against durable Kiwi James Bishop, fighting out of Auckland’s Strikeforce Gym.
Also on the card, highly touted youngster Tyson Pedro from Lions High Performance Centre is put up against one of New Zealand’s top Heavyweights, Steven Warby, who will be competing at light heavyweight. Pedro (3-0) made an impressive debut for the promotion against Dan Endermann in his last outing at AFC 16. Warby (8-1) most recently is coming off a first round TKO finish of Pane Haraki at Brace: 41 New Zealand.
Fight Card:
- Tai Tuivasa vs. James McSweeney – AFC heavyweight title
- Ben Wall vs Rob Hill
- Gokhan Turkyilmaz vs James Bishop
- Tyson Pedro vs Steven Warby
- Peter davenport vs William Namoa
- Ramen Habib vs Marko Orlovic
- Zhu Jun vs Harlem Ottoway
- Mikey Vaotuua vs Dane Beeby
- Chris Wase vs Shane Parker
- Daniel Schuardt vs Sebastian Temesi
- John Mitchell vs Kevin Bentley
- Joshua Riley vs Kairin Moses
Tai Tuivasa dispatches Brandon Sosoli in seconds to claim AFC heavyweight title
