Denmark's Ole Laursen shortlisted for KHK World Championship in Bahrain

 

KHK World Championship belt

Ole "Iron Fist" Laursen, 42, has a chance to become the inaugural KHK World Champion. He is the only fighter from Denmark in the shortlist of mixed martial artists released by Brave Combat Federation and Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts.

Brave CF and KHK MMA will hold the first ever KHK World Championship in Bahrain on November 15, 2019. The bouts will be on the card of “Brave 29,” which is part of the Brave International Combat Week.

The KHK World Championship is open to all weight classes and all MMA promotions. The winner will receive US$ 100,000 along with the KHK World Championship belt, which is made of 6.2kg of gold.

Originally, Brave CF and KHK MMA planned to shortlist only 10 MMA fighters as participants of the inaugural KHK World Championship. However, the organizations extended the list and included 15 MMA fighters including Laursen.

Born in the Philippines on August 21, 1977 to a Danish father and a Spanish-Filipino mother, Laursen was 2 years old when he and his family moved to Denmark. He was 15 when he started his Muay Thai training.

As an MMA fighter, Laursen competed professionally from 2006 to 2017. He competed in ONE Championship in 2012.

Laursen and the other 14 shortlisted KHK World Championship fighters were chosen from the hundreds of applicants. The shortlisted fighters are from 11 countries namely Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Iran, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the United States.

“Our special committee was unable to cut all the hundreds of fighters and make a list of only 10 athletes,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid stated. “There was too much talent involved so they decided to leave 15 names and we’ll draw them out and see what are the matchups.”

“I understand them as I would definitely have a hard time making the same choice,” Shahid continued. “I’m very excited to find out who will be coming to the Kingdom of Bahrain to fight for the inaugural KHK World Championships.”

Among the 15 shortlisted MMA fighters, four will be selected to compete in the semifinals while one will serve as an alternate in case of an injury. Check the list on Conan Daily.