Dragomir Petrov chasing SENSHI glory after brutal preparation camp in Bulgaria

Three possible fights in one night. A dangerous Japanese opponent in the opening round. And a crowd inside the Ancient Theatre that expects violence from the opening bell.

He looks ready for it.

A tournament built for chaos

SENSHI 31 Gladiators takes place on May 30 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with Petrov entering the one-night Grand Prix tournament at 70 kilograms. The format alone changes everything. Fighters don’t just prepare for one opponent. They prepare for exhaustion.

Petrov opens against Japan’s Hirukatsu Miyagi, a compact pressure fighter who already made noise at SENSHI 30 with his aggressive combinations and relentless pace. According to the official SENSHI event details, the tournament winner could fight three times within a few hours.

That changes how you train. It changes how you fight.

“You cannot burn all your energy in the first fight,” Petrov explained during an appearance on Bulgarian television. “You need control.”

Watching clips from his recent sessions, that word fits. He’s calmer now. Less wild than a few years ago. The explosiveness is still there, especially when he fires the left hook to the body, but his pacing looks sharper.

Fighting for more than a trophy

Petrov’s story hits differently in Bulgaria because he didn’t come from one of the country’s famous kickboxing cities. He built himself in Sliven, far from the bigger fight hubs.

That still drives him.

He spoke openly this week about wanting young fighters to see that discipline matters more than reputation. Between training camps, he spends hours coaching amateurs and kids at his gym. One trainer close to the camp joked that Petrov barely leaves the building these days except to sleep.

That grind has started getting international attention too. Recent coverage of rising SENSHI names has pointed toward the Bulgarian as one of the tournament dark horses.

Miyagi brings real danger

Nobody around Petrov is overlooking Miyagi.

Japanese kickboxers carry a different rhythm. Sharp entries. Constant pressure. Little wasted movement. Petrov acknowledged that, though he sounded more irritated than intimidated when discussing the matchup.

“I’ve fought guys like this before,” he said on Bulgaria ON AIR.

The confidence feels genuine, not forced.

At media workouts earlier this week, he barely reacted to the cameras around him. No posing. No shouting. Just work. One moment stood out when he quietly asked for another round on the pads after the session already ended.

That tells you enough about his mindset heading into SENSHI 31.

And in a tournament built around survival, mindset matters almost as much as skill.