THE CIRCLE Barcelona “How to get here and timing”
The Circle event (News and info) will take place on Saturday, 12th September 2015 at “Esportiu Municipal Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron, 166-176 08035 Barcelona“; the pre-fights will start at 7.00pm and at 8.00pm the event.
For those who can’t go in Spain to watch in person the great event: “The Circle” (News 1 – News 2), that will take place this Saturday (12/09/2015) in Barcelona, can always watch it via streaming for only 10$ thanks to Epicentre.tv.
Barcelona hosts the Standing Martial Arts World Championship
Next September 12th the Catalonian capital will host the first of the four initial rounds of The Circle, a tournament conceived as the Standing Martial Arts World Championship. The competition will introduce a new set rules endorsed and supported by the main international Martial Arts associations. The best national teams will take part in a tournament, counting with top fighters such as the Thai star Rungravree Sasiprapa or the European and World Muay Thai female champion Eva Naranjo.
Barcelona is about to go down in the History of Martial Arts. Next September 12th the Catalonian capital will host the first of the four initial rounds of The Circle, a tournament that will introduce a new Combat Sports modality based on the most spectacular movements of other fighting disciplines, such as Kickboxing or MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). In an attempt to go beyond the mere aggressiveness and brutality of combats, The Circle will provide a combination of high competition, show and sports values, which will become the main protagonists of the tournament.
The Circle, created by the Catalonian businessman Àlex Romaguera and supported by the former boxer and Full Contact World Champion Xavi Moya, will count with the participation of 16 national teams, including Russia, Argentina, Holland and, needless to say, Thailand.
The competition will be developed within the framework of the CEKT, the Spanish Counsel of Kickboxing, Thaiboxing and Contact Sports, and the teams will be made up of two coaches and four fighters (three men and one woman). Each combat will consist of three rounds, each round no more than three minutes duration, with one minute rest period between rounds.
For the first time in history, a circular ring has been built, recovering in this way the essence of ancient fight. Nonetheless, the main feature of The Circle is undoubtedly its focus on the team: every country struggling for the victory through the cooperation of their athletes. Accordingly, the fighters will not be fighting only for themselves anymore, their triumphs being just one more contribution to the team’s total score.
In the first round, the host, Spain, will fight against Australia, whereas Italy will face off Thailand, the favorite. The Spanish team will count with the presence of Eva Naranjo, the European and World Muay Thai female champion, and “El Tigre” Hernández, Spanish K-1 and Kickboxing World winner. Moreover, the fans are looking forward to the reunion between the Thai star Rungravree Sasiprapa and the Italian Mathias Gallo Cassarino. In their last bout, the European managed to secure a draw against the Asian fighter.
The dates and places of the three remaining rounds have not been determined yet and will be subject to the fighters’ availability.
The creator of this new modality of Combat Sports, the businessman Àlex Romaguera, states that The Circle breaks all the stereotypes surrounding Kickboxing or MMA: “The Circle brings back the best values and principles of fighting sports. Its goal is to change the audience’s general understanding of the word ‘fight’, emphasizing the notions of effort and collective work while, at the same time, providing women with a leading role”.
The event will be held at Vall d’Hebron Pavilion (Barcelona) and tickets will be available for purchase (20 euros) online or at the box offices of the venue. Additionally, live streaming broadcast will be provided at a price of 10$ by Epicentre.tv.
