Samo Petje walks into the Historical Theatre of Plovdiv on Could 30 carrying a number of expectations, and a thoughts filled with beekeeping recommendation. The 34-year-old Slovenian kickboxer carries the SENSHI European Champion at 75 kg, and for SENSHI 31 Gladiators he has dropped a weight class to compete within the 70 kg Light-weight Grand Prix, an eight-man one-night elimination match that serves because the centerpiece of the night .
His first-round opponent is Italy’s Angelo Volpe, a 27-year-old from Cerignola, Apulia. Volpe isn’t any simple out. At GLORY 94 in August 2024, he pulled off what many referred to as the upset of the 12 months, defeating Muay Thai legend Youssef Boughanem, a person who entered that battle with 168 wins and 120 knockouts on his report . His present skilled report stands at 39 wins, 5 losses, and 12 knockouts. Volpe’s crew says they’ve constructed a selected sport plan for opponents from the Petrosyan college, noting they face that type so commonly that they think about it examined territory.
Samo Petje – Scholar of Giorgio Petrosyan
Petje skilled with Giorgio Petrosyan for over a decade. Each week, he drove roughly 100 kilometres from his dwelling in Slovenia to Petrosyan’s health club in Gorizia, Italy paying gasoline and toll prices out of his personal pocket.
“Each time I went there, I realized one thing new,” Petje mentioned. “He all the time confirmed me what I wanted to right, and I attempted to convey these classes into my very own coaching. Then once I stepped into the ring, the whole lot labored.” Petrosyan, who’s Armenian-Italian retired in late 2025 with a report of 109 wins and three losses, having received the Ok-1 World MAX title twice in 2009 and 2010. He’s broadly thought to be one of many biggest kickboxers within the sport’s historical past.
The Petrosyan type, as Petje describes it, blends Dutch kickboxing, classical boxing, Muay Thai kicks, and Muay Thai knees, a hybrid that’s intentionally onerous to decipher. “That’s why it’s very onerous to learn,” Petje mentioned of the method. He applies the identical logic to his personal sport.
“I believe nobody can actually learn my sport. I put together individually for every fighter and adapt the second I step into the ring.” It’s a philosophy that has served him effectively throughout a number of promotions, together with his SENSHI European title at 75 kg and former Ok-1 and Muay Thai European titles.
SENSHI 31
Regardless of getting into the tournament as one of many favourites, Petje says the surface noise doesn’t attain him. “I do know my qualities, and I imagine in myself. Once I go into the ring, I really feel mature and prepared.” Volpe, for his half, says the largest problem of a one-night match is vitality administration between bouts, and that he handles it by staying locked in on one battle at a time.
Away from the ring, Petje retains bees and trains out of what he calls a “laboratory” in an old style constructing in Slovenia. He says the beekeeping features as psychological conditioning. “Whenever you work with bees, you can’t be nervous. If you’re nervous, it turns into troublesome.”
Tonight’s match, ought to he get by, Petje has the vacant RISE Middleweight (70 kg) title on the road at RISE 199 on June 28 in Tokyo’s Korakuen Corridor. “Since then, I’ve all the time believed I may win a belt in RISE,” Petje mentioned, recalling a earlier win over Japanese fighter Hinata that satisfied him he may compete on the high degree in Japan. “I stored asking for the chance, and now the time has come.”
SENSHI 31 Gladiators takes place on the Historical Theatre of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, a Roman-era open-air venue that seats 1000’s and has turn out to be one of many extra placing backdrops in European fight sports activities. The occasion is organised in cooperation with the KWU Worldwide Skilled League and brings collectively fighters from 14 international locations, together with Italy, Japan, Brazil, France, Morocco, and the Netherlands.
Alongside the Grand Prix, the cardboard options three KWU Full Contact tremendous fights, together with a heavyweight conflict involving Benjamin Adegbuyi, recognized internationally for his knockout victory over Badr Hari. Petje’s opening-round bout towards Volpe is scheduled to kick off the Grand Prix bracket, that means he faces the sharpest check first, with doubtlessly two extra fights to comply with on the identical evening if he advances.
