May 8th, 2025, “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II” delivered the fight night of the year — and, possibly, of the decade — in Riga’s LED Unit studio, transforming the venue into a modern-day coliseum for ten fights contested under unique “B0 Fist Fight”, “B0 Kick Fight” and “B0 Mixed Fight” hybrid rules.
FULL “BAZARA 0 FIGHT CLUB II” REPLAY HERE!
Fans were treated to high-level action from local combat stars and international challengers, with the spotlight on five marquee matchups that ranged from a highly technical main event to one of the most theatrical walkouts Latvian fight fans have ever witnessed. We saw no draws, a domination from the red corner, and the judges were unanimous in all their decisions.
In the headline fight, Latvian boxer Ričards “The Lion” Bolotņiks faced Germany’s Serge “Bavarian Sniper” Michel in a rematch carried out under special “B0 Fist Fight” rules. Notably, this match allowed only punches, 3 rounds of 2 minutes each. This fight reprised their 2020 Golden Contract tournament final, where Bolotņiks had defeated Michel via TKO.
Fighting with 4-ounce gloves, the duel was entirely technical; a true veteran performance. Michel started out ambitiously, while Bolotņiks picked his shots methodically. Both were perfectly adjusted to the smaller gloves’ dynamics as well — it was cerebral and felt like true boxing, despite only wearing 4 ounces on each hand. Bolotņiks earned the victory, edging out Michel in a close contest.
The co-main event saw Danik Vesnenok, the founder of “BAZARA 0” and a Latvian MMA legend, make a stellar return to competition against fighter Roberts Skujiņš. Vesnenok stepped back into the cage after a three-year hiatus, his last fight being in 2022, and prior to that he had tested himself in Russia’s bare-knuckle Top Dog league.
The long break did nothing to dull Vesņenoks’ skills — in fact, he was hungry, securing a victory by decision. The performance was personal coming back after years away to notch a win in front of the home crowd and on his own night. Vesnenok has hinted that this could be his last fight, and if it ends up being so, he delivered a fitting high-note finale to his career.
The match between Francis Rozentāls and Juris Zundovskis was certainly the loudest of the night. Yes, Rozentāls indeed remains undefeated, as a fighter and character — he made a spectacular entrance, striding to the cage in head-to-toe denim with cowboy boots, and claimed his victory in jeans.
Contested as a “B0 Fist Fight”, the fight keeps Rozentāls’ record perfect and marks a triumphant continuation of his comeback. Beyond the theatrics, this fight carried significant backstory. It was a rematch three years in the making — back in 2022, Rozentāls had outpointed Zundovskis in a four-round contest. Since then, Zundovskis has reinvented himself and earlier this year scored a career-highlight victory over Kristaps Zutis to claim the KOK Latvian Champion title. Rozentāls, meanwhile, had been sidelined by injury but returned with a win at the Latvian Championships and Liepāja Fight Night 5.
With a repeat victory, a new dynamic has emerged between Rozentāls, Zundovskis, and Zutis. Rozentāls has not been shy about calling out Zutis for a fight — and now that he has won over the man who beat Kristaps, things could get very interesting. The triangle between these fighters makes the local fight scene worth following: Rozentāls holds two wins over Zundovskis, Zundovskis holds a win over Zutis, and Zutis will be interested in evening the score come October in his rematch against Zundovskis.
A scheduled “B0 Fist Fight” between veteran Aigars Meija and Ukraine’s Yaroslav Kuzoma was one of the night’s two bouts where the blue corner prevailed. Billed as a contest in the 65 kilogram division, the match unfortunately ended early due to injury.
The 32-year-old Meija, making his “BAZARA 0” debut, is a Baltic pankration champion and K-1 vice-champion, as well as a past Oslo Fight Night winner. Kuzoma, a younger fighter hungry for redemption after battling to a draw in “BAZARA 0 Fight Club” debut event last year, saw this as a chance to make a statement.
Just as the bout was warming up, the referee halted the contest as Meija was unable to continue, and he was transported to a hospital where a cheekbone fracture was revealed. Kuzoma was awarded the TKO victory in the first round. It was an unfortunate end to what had the makings of a great and genuinely interesting fight — but for Kuzoma, the result goes down as an important win in his record. For us, it serves as a reminder of the risks these fighters are taking.
Another compelling matchup was Ričards Hauberts and Niks Bemberis. Hauberts is a rising talent mentored by none other than Danik Vesnenok himself, while Bemberis is a favored student of Roberts Skujiņš.
With Vesnenok and Skujiņš meeting in the co-main event, this fight took on an extra layer of intrigue — it was essentially a duel of the mentors through their protégés. It was contested as a “B0 Mixed Fight”, but mostly hinged on grappling. Hauberts, the “Ghetto Fight” champion, could not find dominance on the ground, and Bemberis’ positional control was the deciding factor.
When all three rounds expired, it was unanimous who had edged this fight. For Bemberis, the win was a significant feather in his cap: defeating a heavily hyped opponent always tastes good.
The rest of the “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II” card gave a platform to rising and established talent. In keeping with the event’s international flavor, many Latvian competitors faced foreign opponents. Notably, Raivo Aukštikalnis, a Latvian WAKO kickboxing silver medalist, triumphed in a “B0 Kick Fight” against Estonia’s Allan Volosatõh. Fellow Latvian kickboxer Arsenijs Nikolajevs — the reigning KOK World Grand Prix bantamweight champion — delivered an engaging performance as well, defeating Arsenijs Suvorovs of Estonia.
Meanwhile, Vadims Skrebelis and Dans Bukovskis both coined impressive victories. Rounding out the card, Aleksandrs Čerkesovs squared off with Poland’s Damian Ciechanowski and won by TKO.
Across these ten fights, it was mostly Latvian fighters who defended their home turf. But the main message is clear: there is great skill in the local scene, and we’re glad “BAZARA 0” is giving it a platform. Round 3, anyone?
Want to see how it all looked up close? This is how “BAZARA 0 Fight Club II” went down — check out the photos below! Our gallery will be updated throughout the weekend. Pictures from the photo wall can be downloaded here; find yourself and your friends!
