"In the first Blade Fights The line-up of fighters for the mixed martial arts tournament, which will take place on 4 February at Kaunas Žalgiris Arena, is changing," the tournament organisers announce. Lithuanian Zygimantas Ramaska, who was supposed to fight multiple Muay-Thai world champion Fabio Pinca (France), will have to reorientate and prepare for his fight with Brazilian Carlos Eduardo Oliveira, as Fabio Pinca has suffered an injury and will not be able to attend the tournament. Fabio Pinca self-reported the incident in the early hours of the morning, he suffered an injury during a training session which led to the development of pneumothorax and underwent emergency surgery overnight. The fighter is feeling quite well today, but will not be able to return to the training ring for another month at the earliest.
"Sport, especially combat sport, always involves risk." - says Romualdas Klimavičius, President of the Blade Fights Association. "A month and a half before the fight, there is a very active preparation, a strict training regime, and preparation for victory. Unfortunately, fate sometimes intervenes and instead of going to the ring, the fighter has to go to a hospital bed." According to the organisers, combat sports organisers must always prepare for this and in case of an injury, be able to replace the fighter, so that the quality of the event is not compromised and the fight creates intrigue. In this case, Fabio Pinca is being replaced by Carlos Eduardo Oliveira, so there will be plenty of intrigue because Carlos is one of the most experienced MMA fighters on the entire roster, with more than 20 professional MMA fights and is ranked among top 10 of all Brazilian MMA fighters.
When asked what Žygimantas himself thinks about the unexpected changes, he says: "There will be some tactical changes in my preparation. This opponent is selected for the Brazilian fighters top I'm in the top 10, I'm a good fighter on the floor, but I don't think that will be a problem for me in a fight. I feel and I am strong both standing and on the floor, and I am looking forward to the upcoming tournament. I hope to meet Fabio in the future."
Fabio Pinca will be there for everyone to see, as he is not terminating his contract with Blade Fights and promises to return for another tournament later this year. A few words about his new opponent Carlos Eduardo Oliveira. He is a well-known and experienced fighter in the MMA world, winning more than 70% of his fights. Carlos is able to fight both standing and on the wrestling floor, has a good knowledge of striking technique and combines it perfectly with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu actions. His physical attributes allow him to maintain an active pace until the last second of the final round, so it won't be easy for him to choose his tactics and expose his opponent's weak points. When preparing for the fight with Carlos, he will need to make the most of his own strengths, which both Zygmantas and his coach Tomas Putinauskas know very well. As the fighter himself has mentioned many times, this could be continuous pressure on the opponent with punches - which is likely to distract the opponent's attention and hinder his concentration - and on the floor, not missing the opportunity to "put on the track" the effective, time-tested arsenal of painful actions that Zygmantas has prepared for every opponent he faces in the ring.
It will be an intense fight, so let's support Žygimantas on 4 February at Kaunas Žalgiris Arena.
Tickets are distributed by Bilietai.lt, for those who can't make it - live pay-per-view coverage on DELFI Plus and FITE.tv platforms, the most important fights of the evening on BTV from 10 pm.
