Since becoming the first Northern European promotion to sign with UFC Fight Pass; the worlds leading combat sports streaming service, prospects from all over Europe have begun converging upon Västerås for a chance to make their mark.
This is well illustrated by the addition of the latest bout booked for FCR 12 on May seventh: A meeting between Ukraine's Karlén Minasian (4-1) and Spain's Hecher Sosa (3-0).
Minasian has been competing as a pro since September 2018 and quickly began lining up victories on the local Ukrainian MMA scene. After amassing four straight victories, including two first round knockouts, Minasian earned a shot in top promotion ACB. The Ukrainian faced experienced Brazilian Josiel Silva but ended up losing via second round TKO.
Since then Minasian has relocated to Örebro Fight Gym under head coach Patrik Hjulström, training alongside the likes of FCR fighter Rahmads Stromanis, UFC star Pannie Kianzad and Bellator vet Malin Hermansson amongst others.
Sosa is very experienced in amateur MMA and one of Spain's most promising prospects. He has won the Spanish National Championships three times, holds a bronze medal in the IMMAF World Championships, a bronze medal in the IMMAF European Championships as well as a gold medal in the African Open.
Since going pro in February of 2020 Sosa's record remains perfect with three straight finishes. He made his FCR debut in his most recent outing, facing Swedish national champion and FCR staple Jonny Touma. Sosa wasted no time making an impressive impression, knocking Touma out early in the first round with a flying knee.
With the bantamweight division being on fire as of late, whoever emerges victorious will find themselves closing in on the upper echelon of Northern European bantamweights - and perhaps even a title shot.