Spectacular night in Skopje: Bojković crowned new champion, Honda defeats Budimir
The incredible atmosphere inside the packed Boris Trajkovski Sports Center suggested that this would not be FNC's last visit to North Macedonia, with a return expected as early as next year
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Fight Nation Championship made its first-ever appearance in North Macedonia, bringing FNC 34 to the capital, Skopje, for a historic night that saw one of the promotion's homegrown stars reach the pinnacle of his career. Marko Bojković delivered a spectacular knockout in just 50 seconds, defeating Lom-Ali Eskiev to become the new FNC lightweight champion!
But let's start from the beginning. The night got off to a perfect start for the home crowd as Daniela Aleksovska submitted Mina Chatzopoulou in the third round. An unusual result followed, with the bout between Martin Horsch and Nikita Zelinskyi ending in a draw. Rising Montenegrin prospect Luka Lainović then knocked out North Macedonia's Marko Trajanovski with a devastating kick to the liver, while Elias Erber submitted Bondo Kikadze, made a statement for the next generation of fighters and called out Fran Luka Đurić after his victory.
Dino Starčević started his fight brilliantly, breaking Nikola Đurđev's nose, but the Serbian fighter battled back to submit the hometown favorite. Gheorghe Balaur then thrilled the crowd at the Boris Trajkovski Sports Center with a knockout victory over Greece's Anastasios Chatzigeorgiadis, before Nemanja Nikolić continued the run of finishes with a second-round TKO against Jivko Stoimenov. Khanbulat 'Honda' Irisbiev extended his winning streak with a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Budimir.
After four years away from the cage, Alen Amedovski made his long-awaited return in front of his home crowd. However, his comeback did not go as planned, as Tato Primera knocked him out in the opening round. The co-main event ended even faster, with Miljan Rovčanin knocking out Toshe Cvetkov in just 26 seconds in an Ultimate Boxing bout. It was an explosive lead-in to the main event, where Marko Bojković captured the FNC lightweight title in spectacular fashion. You can find the full event statistics HERE.
The incredible atmosphere inside the packed Boris Trajkovski Sports Center suggested that this would not be FNC's last visit to North Macedonia, with a return expected as early as next year. However, there is little time to rest, as another unforgettable night of fights from Southeast Europe's leading MMA promotion is just two weeks away. FNC 35 powered by Meridianbet heads to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, on Saturday, November 7, with tickets already available via Gigstix.