On Saturday, Mar. 4, in Rome, Italy the top Italian MMA promotion Venator FC will host Venator FC 14: Pagani vs. Mora, live from the Gold TV Studios. The promotion, which has been operating since Jan. 2015, and this will be their 32nd event – the ninth in the last 12 months. Venator FC hosted some of their first events with top UFC fighters, such as Marvin Vettori and Jack Hermansson, including many top Italian fighters, like former Cage Warriors champion Stefano Paternò and Bellator fighter Daniele Scatizzi.
Tomorrow’s event was somewhat cursed, because, in recent days, some of the bouts from the main card were cancelled, due to injuries, including the main event where Michelangelo “The Farmer” Colangelo was supposed to face Spanish BJJ black belt Samuel Blasco.
The new main event will still feature Italy vs. Spain in the lightweight division. One of the most interesting Italian prospects, Michael “The Sniper” Pagani (5-0) will face Spain’s David Mora (8-4, 1 NC). Pagani is just 24 years old and has four knockouts and one decision victory over former Combate Global fighter Gianluca “Django” Rocca. He won his last fight in Oct. 2022, defeating Dylan Hantig with an impressive jumping knee knockout in the first round. He’s a member of the Lonato del Garda Pro Team, where former UFC and Invicta FC fighter Mara Romero Borella started her career. On the other side, Mora holds victories in Oktagon MMA and in the top Spanish promotion AFL, including two knockouts in his last two fights. As a pro, he has four knockouts and two submissions.
Simone “The Tiger” D’Anna is also on the card. He is a former Bellator fighter, who is a member of Gloria Team, also home to former UFC fighter Alessio de Chirico. He is coming in off a split-decision victory over Israeli Itay Tratner at Venator FC 12 last October, and he will fight in the featherweight division against Germany’s Said Saidi, who is on a four-fight winning streak with three finishes.
In the bantamweight division Fabio De Luca is targeting his third consecutive win, as he faces a tough opponent in Britain’s Darius Mafi of Manchester Top Team. Mafi was undefeated as an amateur, and, as a pro, he holds three knockouts and one submission victory. He lost his last match in PFL against the undefeated Ali Taleb from Sweden.
The only female bout will be in the strawweight division. The Iranian fighter, who trains out of Florence, Samin “The Demon” Kamal Beik, a former BRAVE CF fighter, will face the Hungarian grappler Beata Juhasz, who holds a combined professional and amateur record of 7-5 with five submissions.
The first bout of the card will be the pro debut in the bantamweight division of the former MMA and submission-grappling Italian amateur champion Daniele Caldarera, from Catania, Sicily, who’s facing Fabio Morlacchi from Milan, a member of Manchester Top Team in the U.K..
Venator FC 14 airs live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 1 p.m. ET.