Young Welsh prospects Ieuan Mackenzie and Ioan Harris have both announced that both their professional debuts will take place at Budo 55 on March 4th. The card, which is set to take place in South Wales, will feature many of the country’s young up-and-comers.
Budo Fighting Championships has proven to be a budding ground for British talent over the years. Now, they’re ready to host one of their biggest, with plenty of Welsh talent on show.
Ieuan Mackenzie
“The Lion” made his intentions to go pro clear back in October after having another fantastic year. He finishes his amateur career with a 10-4 record, with his 2022 ending with four wins and just one defeat. Not only that, but the 21-year-old leaves amateur fighting with three belts wrapped around his waist.
Title wins at Cage Warriors Academy Wales, Meltdown and Raged UK solidified him as one of the country’s best amateurs. It had become clear that finding fights at this level was going to prove to be difficult from here onwards, so making the jump up to professional fighting seemed only right.
Mackenzie travelled to two IMMAF competitions, coming away with a combined record of 2-2, beating nations like Russia and Italy.
He announced on his Instagram recently that his pro debut would take place on March 4th at Budo 55. It is currently unclear who he will be facing, but it is sure to be an exciting matchup.
Ioan Harris
Another big name who is finishing his amateur career as one of the best welterweights in the UK. Ioan Harris concludes this period of his fighting with an incredible 11-1 record. Similarly to Mackenzie, he comes away from amateur fighting with a number of titles and some huge wins.
A title win at Cage Warriors Academy Wales in June of 2022 really put him on many people’s radars. However, it was his unbelievably at the 2022 IMMAF European Championships which solidified his status.
Five victories in the space of a week meant he came away with the gold in Italy. The most impressive of the five, came in the final when he locked in the Von Flue choke against Belgium’s, Patrick Habirora. He became the first Welsh fighter to ever win gold at the IMMAF’s European Championships.
He, too, made his announcement on his Instagram just last week. With no opponent announced yet either, we can expect another stellar fight being added to Budo 55. Also included in his announcement post was a hint at some more international fights on the schedule for 2023.
Budo 55
The card has already announced some of its big-name fights. The card will see the return of some of Shore MMA’s growing roster. Scott Pedersen, Stephanie Evans and Owain Williams will all return to action on March 4th.
Pedersen seems to be headlining another Budo card after his round-one submission wins at Budo 53 in November. Both Evans and Williams are hoping to bounce back after pro debut defeats at Cage Warriors 142 in August.
How do you think Ieuan Mackenzie and Ioan Harris will get on as they make the leap to professional fighting? We will bring you all Budo’s news over the next few months. For all the updates on their upcoming events, stay tuned.
