Superior Challenge

Robin Roos takes over Superior Challenge's Instagram Stories on June 3rd

Michel Ersoy takes over Superior Challenge's Instagram Stories on May 29.

Bartosz Wojcikiewicz takes over Superior Challenge's Instagram Stories on May 25

The bout that changed Swedish MMA

On May 1^st, 2010 at Fryshuset arena, Reza "Mad Dog" Madadi fought Junie Allen " The Lunatik" Browning at Superior Challenge 5. It was the largest MMA bout ever in Sweden. Superior Challenge had only existed for two years and thus also MMA at this level. For the first time, a UFC fighter would be matched against a Swedish home fighter, and everyone wanted to watch this fight between these two bad boys.

Reza had fought on all Superior Challenge cards and quickly grew to become one of the promotion's main stars. He was the first Swedish fighter to realize that MMA is both sports and entertainment and that an MMA fighter needs to master both. He was and still is an interesting character with some unique aspects that characterizes him to this day. Everyone knew that his fights would start already at the weigh-ins and that he would give everything during his bouts with a big fighting heart and strong will. He was not only a bad boy but also a dedicated athlete who always performed on top level. Due to this, his popularity grew rapidly.

Junie Browning had recently been released by the UFC and was known from the TV series TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) where he had gained a bad boy image. The US fighter was the toughest opponent Reza had faced and it was a big deal to be matched against a UFC veteran who everyone recognized from TUF.

Junie did a very funny walkout to set the Swede of balance mentally. He had dressed like Reza with Superior Wear, Reza’s sponsor gear, and had a big black masquerade beard. He had chosen a specific Persian song which Reza used during walkouts and mimicked the Swede’s behaviour to ridicule him. Joy spread like wildfire among the crowd and when it was Reza's turn to enter the venue, the crowd was ecstatic. The Swede made his grandiose walkout with belly dancers just as usual. Watch the video to see the outcome of the fight.

Sweden’s County Administrative Board's Martial Arts Delegation had attended all five Superior Challenge events during two and a half years in order to evaluate the sport, and to decide whether Martial Arts should be legal in Sweden. Superior Challenge's hard work in MMA had previously resulted in that the Swedish County Administrative Board's Martial Arts Delegation had granted the Swedish MMA Federation a temporary permit to sanction competitions. The Delegation also attended this event which turned out to be the last time. Superior Challenge's hard work had resulted in the Swedish MMA Federation getting the permanent permit, which is still valid today.

After this event, Superior Challenge grew to a new level and thus also Swedish MMA. This was also the last bout that Superior Challenge had in a boxing ring and at the venue Fryshuset. Later that year, the promotion produced its first event in a large Hockey arena, Hovet in Stockholm, and broke new records.

Commentators were Omar Bouiche, a Swedish MMA legend and the no1 coach in the region, together with Musse Hasselvall, a TV personality who had previously fought for the promotion.

Watch previous Superior Challenge events on Viaplay: https://viaplay.se/serier/superior-challenge

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Svenska:

Matchen som förändrade svensk MMA

Den 1:a maj 2010 på Fryshuset gick Reza ”Mad Dog” Madadi mot Junie Allen ”The Lunatik” Browning på Superior Challenge 5. Det var då den största MMA-matchen någonsin i Sverige och Superior Challenge och MMA på den här nivån hade endast existerat i två år. För första gången skulle en UFC-fighter matchas mot en svensk hemmafighter och alla ville se den här matchen mellan dessa två bad boys.

Reza hade figurerat på alla Superior Challenge galor och växte snabbt till att bli en av organisationens största stjärnor. Han var den första svensken som insåg att MMA är både sport och underhållning och att en MMA-fighter behöver bemästra båda delarna. Han var och är fortfarande en intressant karaktär med några unika aspekter som kännetecknar honom än idag.Alla visste att hans matcher skulle börja på invägningen redan och att han skulle ge allt under match med ett stort fighting-hjärta och stark vilja. Men han var inte bara en bad boy utan även en dedikerad idrottsman som alltid presterade på topp och levererade under match. På så sätt växte hans popularitet snabbt.

Junie Browning hade nyligen blivit släppt av UFC och var känd från TV-serien TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) där även han hade byggt upp en galen bad boy image kring sig själv. Amerikanen var den tuffaste motståndaren som Reza hade ställts inför och det var stort att matchas mot någon som precis hade kommit ut från UFC och som alla kände igen från TUF.

Junie gjorde en väldigt rolig walkout för att psyka svensken, han hade klätt ut sig till Reza med skägg och hade på sig Superior Wear som var Rezas klädsponsor. Han gick in till en persisk låt och härmade Rezas beteende för att förlöjliga honom. Glädje spred sig som en löpeld bland publiken i arenan och när det var Rezas tur att äntra arenan var publik i extas. Svensken gjorde sin pampiga walkout med magdansöser i vanlig ordning och vad som hände under matchen får ni se själva i det här klippet.

Länsstyrelsens kampsportsdelegation hade närvarat på samtliga fem Superior Challenge galor under två och ett halvt år för att utvärdera sporten och bedöma om kampsporter skulle få arrangera tävlingar i Sverige. Superior Challenges hårda arbete i MMA hade tidigare resulterat i att Länsstyrelsens kampsportsdelegation gav Svenska MMA Förbundet ett tillsvidaretillstånd att sanktionera tävlingar. Delegationen närvarade även på denna gala vilket visade sig vara sista gången. Superior Challenges hårda arbete hade resulterat i att Svenska MMA Förbundet fick det nuvarande permanenta tillståndet.

Efter den här galan växte Superior Challenge till en ny nivå och således även svensk MMA. Det här var också den sista matchen som Superior Challenge arrangerade i boxningsring och på Fryshuset. Senare samma år arrangerade organisationen sin första gala i en stor hockey-arena, Hovet i Stockholm och slog nya rekord.

Kommentatorer var Omar Bouiche, svensk MMA-legend och Nordens främsta MMA-tränare, tillsammans med Musse Hasselvall, TV-personlighet som tidigare tävlat för organisationen.

Se tidigare Superior Challenge galor på Viaplay: https://viaplay.se/serier/superior-challenge

This old commercial spot and poster from Superior Challenge 11 has survived since 2014.

Serdar Altas Superior Challenge Instagram Takeover May 21st

Watch Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen vs Sami "Uzi" Aziz at Superior Challenge 6

An epic Superior Challenge bout between the legendary Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen and Sami "Uzi" Aziz at Superior Challenge 6 - Lion's Den on October 29th, 2010 at Hovet arena in Stockholm.

When Pride FC was bought by Zuffa LLC during 2007 Hansen was one of many fighters the new owner wanted to move to UFC. But Hansen didn't accept the new terms set by Zuffa. He is a man with principles, so he decided to not participate at UFC and managed to terminate the Zuffa contract. Soon after he started to fight for Dream and re-established his position as one of the world’s top fighters in the weight division.

Babak Ashti, founder of Superior Group International, managed to sign Hansen to Superior Challenge, and this was his first fight on Nordic soil after the beginning of his career. During this period Hansen was a super star in Japan and in other parts of the world. But since MMA was quite new in the Nordics only the hard-core MMA fans knew about him. Superior Challenge was way ahead of its time.

The opponent and home fighter was the Swedish Olympic wrestler Sami "Uzi" Aziz who was at the peak of his MMA career and one of Superior Challenge’s main characters since the start of the promotion. He always wanted to fight elite fighters and consequently he really looked forward to this fight. Aziz was recognized as one of the foremost athletes in Sweden. He was and still is one of the most experienced Martial Artists in Sweden. At that time, he had 30 boxing fights in the Swedish National team, over1500 Wrestling matches, was two times Olympic Wrestler, and had also fought experienced MMA fighters.

Superior Challenge had only existed for two years back then and scaled up its promotion significantly for this event. This was the first time an MMA event was produced in a large Hockey arena in Sweden. The promotion also changed its Olympic size Boxing ring to an MMA Cage, which was a big step both for the promotion’s staff and fighters. The show broke record attendance with over 6.500 spectators, which was the first time ever a Swedish MMA promotion gathered such a large crowd. A true historical moment for Superior Challenge and Swedish MMA in general. This was the start of the sport’s growth in Sweden and the Nordics.

The commentators were Omar Bouiche, a Swedish MMA legend and the no1 coach in the region, together with Musse Hasselvall, a TV personality who had previously fought for the organisation. But for this fight Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson jumped in instead of Hasselvall who was in Aziz’s corner.

The bout was a Featherweight qualification fight. A few years later at Superior Challenge 11 Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen fought Diego “The Gun” Nunes in a spectacular title fight.

Watch previous Superior Challenge events on Viaplay: https://viaplay.se/serier/superior-challenge

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(Svenska)

Se matchen mellan Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen och Sami "Uzi" Aziz från Superior Challenge 6

En episk Superior Challenges match mellan den legendariske Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen mot Sami "Uzi" Aziz på Superior Challenge 6 - Lion's Den, den 29:e oktober 2010 på Hovet arena i Stockholm.

När Pride FC köptes upp av Zuffa LLC under 2007 var Hansen en av många fighters som den nya ägaren ville flytta över till UFC men norrmannen accepterade inte Zuffas nya villkor. Principfast som han är, bestämde han sig för att inte delta i UFC och lyckades ta sig ur Zuffa-kontraktet. Strax därefter började han tävla för Dream och återupprättade sin position som en av världens främsta fighters i viktklassen.

Babak Ashti, grundaren av Superior Group International lyckades värva Hansen till Superior Challenge och detta blev hans första match på nordisk mark sedan början av hans karriär. Vid den här perioden var Hansen en superstjärna i Japan och i andra delar av världen, men eftersom MMA-marknaden var relativt liten i Norden var det bara hard-core MMA-fansen som kände till honom. Man kan säga att Superior Challenge var före sin tid.

Motståndaren och hemmafightern var den svenska Olympiska brottaren Sami "Uzi" Aziz som var på toppen av sin MMA-karriär då och hade varit en av Superior Challenges huvudfighters sedan organisationens start. Han ville alltid möta världseliten och därför såg han verkligen fram emot den här matchen. Aziz var igenkänd som en av Sveriges främsta idrottare. Han var och är fortfarande idag en Sveriges av de mest erfarna kampsportsutövare. Vid den tiden hade han gått över 30 boxningsmatcher i svenska Boxningslandslaget, hade över 1500 Brottningsmatcher i ryggen, var tvåfaldig OS-brottare och hade mött många bra MMA-fighters.

Superior Challenge hade bara funnits i drygt två år då och skalade upp sin verksamhet rejält inför den här galan. Det var första gången en MMA-gala arrangerades i en stor Hockeyarena i Sverige. Superior Challenge gick även över från Boxningsring av Olympisk storlek till MMA-bur, vilket var en stor omställning både för organisationens personal samt fighters. Evenemanget slog publikrekord med över 6,500 åskådare, vilket var första gången någonsin en svensk MMA-gala besökts av en så stor publik. Detta var ett riktigt historiskt ögonblick för Superior Challenge och för svensk MMA i allmänhet och var startskottet för sportens riktigt stora tillväxt i Sverige och Norden.

Kommentatorer var Omar Bouiche, svensk MMA-legend och Nordens främsta MMA-tränare, tillsammans med Musse Hasselvall, TV-personlighet som tidigare tävlat för organisationen. Men just under denna match hoppade Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson in som ersättare för Hasselvall eftersom han stod i Aziz ringhörna.

Matchen var ett kvalificeringsmöte om Fjäderviktstiteln. Några år senare på Superior Challenge 11 ställdes Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen mot Diego “The Gun” Nunes i en spektakulär titelmatch.

Se tidigare Superior Challenge galor på Viaplay: https://viaplay.se/serier/superior-challenge

Throwback Superior Challenge

Watch Adam Westlund vs Robin Roos at Superior Challenge 20

Superior Challenge releases exclusive memorable bouts for free to cheer up MMA, martial arts and sports enthusiasts during these gloomy Corona times.

Starting today, Superior Challenge will release memorable fights from its previous events, so called Throwback Superior Challenge with hashtag #TBSC. The selection will consist of the promotion’s foremost bouts, athletic achievements, historically important bouts and cult-declared moments. These bouts will be released periodically as of today.

Superior Challenge, one of Europe’s oldest MMA-promotions, has produced a total of twenty shows since the start in 2008. Over 220 professional MMA bouts have been produced during these twelve years, with the Nordic’s MMA elite in Sweden’s largest sports arenas.

The bouts will be released on Superior Challenge's YouTube channel and will only be available for a short period of time. Superior Challenge's previous events and live broadcasts can be viewed on Superior Challenge’s series page on Viaplay in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland). Outside the Nordic region Superior Challenge events can be watched all over the world via Fite TV.

- The pandemic affects everything and everyone and consequently also sports and entertainment. That is why we want to cheer up MMA and sports fans by sharing our material for free. We have had so many spectacular fights at Superior Challenge with lots of historical moments for Swedish MMA, and this is an excellent opportunity to share these moments with everyone”, says Babak Ashti, founder of Superior Challenge.

The first bout to be released is from the latest event, Superior Challenge 20 at Fitnessfestivalen in Stockholm, on December 7^th 2019, between Adam Westlund and Robin Roos. Two of Sweden’s foremost promising talents. After two failed attempts, these two young athletes finally met in a long-awaited Swedish derby. They showed big hearts and entertained the audience with great performance. The fight was mentioned as the best MMA fight in Sweden throughout 2019.

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(Swedish)

Se Adam Westlund mot Robin Roos på Superior Challenge 20

Superior Challenge bjuder på exklusiva minnesvärda matcher helt utan kostnad för att muntra upp MMA-, kampsport- och sportintresserade under dessa dystra Coronatider.

Med start idag kommer Superior Challenge att släppa minnesvärda matcher från sina tidigare galor under namnet Throwback Superior Challenge med hashtagen #TBSC. Urvalet kommer att bestå av allt ifrån organisationens främsta matcher, idrottsliga prestationer, historiskt viktiga tillbakablickar samt kultförklarade ögonblick.

Dessa matcher kommer att släppas med jämna mellanrum från och med idag. Superior Challenge har arrangerat totalt tjugo galor sedan starten 2008. Under dessa tolv år har man anordnat över 220 professionella MMA-matcher med Nordens MMA-elit i de största och mest anrika svenska arenorna.

Matcherna kommer att släppas på Superior Challenges YouTube-kanal och kommer att finnas tillgängliga endast under en kort period. Superior Challenges tidigare galor och sändningar finns att titta på i helhet på Superior Challenges seriesida på Viaplay i hela Norden. Det går även att titta på galorna utanför Norden, över hela världen via Superior Challenges Fight Library hos FITE TV.

-  Pandemin påverkar allt och alla och det gäller även sport och underhållning. Därför vill vi muntra upp MMA- och sportintresserade genom att dela med oss av vårt material helt utan kostnad. Vi har haft så många spektakulära matcher i Superior Challenge med massor av historiska ögonblick för svensk MMA och det här är ett ypperligt tillfälle att dela med oss av dessa ögonblick, säger Babak Ashti, grundaren av Superior Challenge.

Första matchen som släpps är från den senaste galan, Superior Challenge 20 på Fitnessfestivalen den 7:e december 2019 mellan Adam Westlund och Robin Roos. Efter två misslyckade försök möttes äntligen dessa två lovande unga talanger i ett efterlängtat svenskderby. Kombattanterna gav allt i buren och deras prestationer fick alla att tappa hakan och matchen blev omtalad som den bästa MMA-matchen på svensk mark under hela 2019.

Superior Challenge 21 Cancelled

It is no secret that the current extraordinary Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation has affected everyone, both people and companies. Everyone must help in order to prevent the spread of the virus so that we can take care of the most vulnerable in our societies. The pandemic has had incredible negative impact on both public health and the economy, and countries have taken different methods and measures in the fight against the outbreak. Superior Challenge follows the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden as well as the Swedish Government's directives. The existing restrictions makes it impossible to produce Superior Challenge 21 on May 23^rd, 2020 at the Cirkus arena in Stockholm.

The promotion has so far had an optimistic approach, and has patiently waited for eased restrictions in hopes of moving ahead with the production of the May 23^rd show as planned.

- I thought that we, Superior, had experienced everything by now e.g. volcanic eruptions etc. But this is an incomparable extraordinary situation. The easiest thing for us would have been to cancel the event several weeks ago but we have done everything in our power to save it. Mainly because we feel that we have responsibility towards our athletes who have been preparing for their fights for such a long time. And also, because we want to provide our fans with live entertainment which they can look forward to during these difficult times. But this cannot be done at the expense of the health and safety of our athletes, staff, suppliers, fans or the community, says Babak Ashti, founder of Superior Group International.

In accordance with the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the organization has chosen to postpone Superior Challenge 21 to the first best possible date. Northern Europe's largest MMA promotion, Superior Challenge, will closely monitor the development of the pandemic and the company’s regular operations will resume as usual as soon as the existing restrictions eases.

- It was a very difficult decision to take, but in the end, we had no choice. Superior Challenge 21, scheduled for May 23^rd at Cirkus Arena in Stockholm, is postponed and a new date will be announced shortly. Public health is most important, especially during these crazy times. We all need to help to protect our society and that includes Superior Challenge as well. When the pandemic is over, Superior will be ready and we’ll come back stronger than ever, says Babak Ashti, founder of Superior Group International.

Superior Challenge has interesting projects in the pipeline and when things start to move in the right direction, the Swedish MMA promotion promises to offer spectacular bouts and the highest quality MMA productions just as usual.

- Despite all the sadness that this pandemic has caused, it is important that we learn from everything that has happened. The COVID-19 outbreak has shown us how fragile our lives and the economy really are, and how little it takes for everything we take for granted to collapse overnight. The most important lesson I will have with me after the pandemic is to appreciate health and family, because without them, everything else has no meaning. Take care of yourself and spread love. You will hear from us soon again, says Babak Ashti, founder of Superior Group International.

Superior Challenge has also chosen to reimburse everyone who has purchased tickets for Superior Challenge 21 on May 23^rd, 2020 at Cirkus arena in Stockholm.