2010 M-1 Challenge season
| 2010 M-1 Challenge Season | |
|---|---|
| League | M-1 Global |
| Sport | Mixed Martial Arts |
The 2010 M-1 Challenge Season is the third season of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting presented by the M-1 Global promotion. The season started on February 5 and will conclude with the M-1 Challenge XXII event scheduled for December 10. Unlike in previous years where competition was arranged entirely around country-based teams, the 2010 competition has a greater focus on individual achievement. Rather than the sixteen "country" teams of the 2009 competition, the 2010 M-1 Challenge features eight teams representing four "continents" – Europe, Russia, Americas and Asia – with each continent having two teams. Four of the teams are drawn from the M-1 Selection events whilst the other four are selected from, and feature, veteran MMA fighters.[1] Events held near the end of the year feature bouts to crown inaugural M-1 Global Champions in each of the five weight divisions. Two of these champions – Lightweight Champion Artiom Damkovsky from Belarus and Heavyweight Champion Guram Gugenishvili from Ukraine – have already been decided;[2] the remaining three champions will be determined at M-1 Challenge XXII.[3]
Background
M-1 Challenge is a team-based competition organized with a series of events held around the world wherever MMA clubs compete. Each team consist of five fighters, one from each of the five major MMA weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. The inaugural Challenge (the 2008 Season) was won by the Russian team from the Red Devil Sport Club, who defeated the team from Holland.[4] The 2009 M-1 Challenge Season was also won by a Russian team, this time with a 5-0 defeat of the USA East team.[5]
M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner
The first M-1 Challenge event took place on October 28, 2010 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.[6] The event featured two title bouts that will pair M-1 Global’s 2010 "Selection" regional champions, who topped a worldwide tournament that began in January.
Championship bouts
Belarusian Artiom Damkovsky and his Russian opponent Mairbek Taisumov fought to determine the Championship in the lightweight division. Damkovsky came into the bout as the M-1 Eastern European Lightweight Champion, having twice defeated Arsen Ubaidulaev[7] and with an overall 7-4 win-loss record.[8] Taisumov became the the M-1 Western European Lightweight Champion when he defeated Sergey Adamchuk[9] and entered the championship bout with a 12-2 record.[10] Both Damkovsky and Taisumov were undefeated in the 2010 Season prior to their fight. In the first two rounds, the two men were relatively evenly matched: Damkovsky was the more powerful striker, landing telling blows with low and mid-kicks. Taisumov, however, executed a successful takedown in the second round and followed it up with a crushing ground-and-pound. In the third round, both men remained on their feet until the bout was stopped when Damkovsky poked Taisumov in the eye. Though medically cleared to continue, Taisumov declined to continue and Damkovsky was declared the winner with a TKO by retirement.[2]
The two fighters meeting in the heavyweight championship bout were Ukrainian Guram Gugenishvili and American Kenny Garner. Gugenishvili became the M-1 Western European Heavyweight champion[11] when he defeated fellow-Ukrainian Alexander Romaschenko in a bout held at the M-1 Selection Eastern European finals[12] Gugenishvili's victory by rear naked choke submission took his win-loss record to 9-0, and eight of those victories were by submission.[13] It was announced[14] that Gugenishvili would face M-1 Eastern European Heavywight Champion Maxim Grishin.[15] However, Grishin was forced to withdraw from the bout with a knee injury that occurred during a national hand-to-hand combat fighting championship in Ufa,[16] providing M-1 Global Americas Champion Kenny Garner the opportunity to fight Gugenishvili.[17] Garner came into the championship bout with a 5-2 record, though he was undefeated in the preliminary rounds of the M-1 Challenge Season.[18] The first round of the bout was evenly matched, with both Garner and Gugenishvili scrambling out from each other multiple times. Gugenishvili took control in the second round, however, when he took advantage of a clinch to put Garner into a guillotine choke hold. Gugenishvili achieved a technical submission victory as Garner lost consciousness, extending his undefeated run and making him the M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion.[2]
Non-championship bouts
In addition to the title bouts, there were undercard bouts in all five weight divisions. Alexander Sarnavskiy, a previous M-1 Selection tournament participant[19] faced off against Victor Kuku, who was undefeated in M-1 competition.[20] Sarnavskiy was previously scheduled to compete in the M-1 Eastern Europe final, but was forced to withdraw through illness.[21] The fight did not last long as Sarnavskiy charged at Kuku, hitting him with a spinning back fist, before hitting him with a barrage of punches to force the stoppage at just 14 seconds.[2]
Magomed Shikhshabekov[22] also competed, against the former Ultimate Fighter 9 participant Che Mills.[23] Coming into the bout, Shikhshabekov was undefeated and had previously been scheduled to join Strikeforce, though visa issues forced him out.[24] Che Mills was also riding a two-fight win streak, which included a nine second knockout of Manuel Garcia.[23] The fight, intended to be a welterweight battle, became a catchweight after Mills weighed in at 172 lb, 1 lb over the weight limit[25] meaning that Mills carried a point deduction into the fight.[2] Sherdog scored the bout 29-26 for Mills, taking into account his point deduction, but the judges scored the bout as a draw. A deciding fourth round was therefore added which Mills won easily, handing Shikshabekov his first professional loss.[2]
Also on the card was a lightweight bout between Daniel Weichel[26] and Yuri Ivlev[27] and a welterweight bout between Igor Araujo[28] and Rashid Magomedov.[29] The former saw Weichel score an upset when his knees opened up a cut on Ivlev's head. Upon medical examination of the cut, the bout was waived off and Weichel declared the winner via TKO.[2] The bout between Araujo and Magomedov saw Magomedov coast to a decision victory; only being troubled in the second round with a submission attempt by Araujo.[2]
Results summary
| Match | Weight class |
Winner weight at weigh-in |
Loser weight at weigh-in |
Method | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lightweight |  Vusal Bairamov[30]153.75 pounds (69.74 kg)[25] |
 Joakhim Apie[citation needed]155.25 pounds (70.42 kg)[25] |
TKO (knees and punches) |
1 | 2:29 | |
| 2 | Heavyweight | Denis Goltsov[31] 213.25 pounds (96.73 kg)[25] |
Marat Aliaskhabov[32] 208.75 pounds (94.69 kg)[25] |
Submission (straight armbar) |
1 | 4:56 | |
| 3 | Light Heavyweight |
Mikhail Zayats[33] 200.5 pounds (90.9 kg)[25] |
 Matias Baric[34]198.5 pounds (90.0 kg)[25] |
Submission (rear naked choke) |
3 | 3:12 | |
| 4 | Lightweight |  Daniel Weichel[26]154.0 pounds (69.9 kg)[25] |
Yuri Ivlev[27] 154.0 pounds (69.9 kg)[25] |
TKO (doctor stoppage) |
3 | 2:34 | |
| 5 | Welterweight | Rashid Magomedov[29] 167.5 pounds (76.0 kg)[25] |
 Igor Araujo[28]170.25 pounds (77.22 kg)[25] |
Unanimous decision | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 6 | Welterweight |  Che Mills[23]172.0 pounds (78.0 kg)[25] |
Magomed Shikhshabekov[22] 168.0 pounds (76.2 kg)[25] |
Unanimous decision | 4 | 5:00 | Mills was 1 lb over weight[25] |
| 7 | Lightweight | Alexander Sarnavskiy[19] 153.25 pounds (69.51 kg)[25] |
 Victor Kuku[20]155.5 pounds (70.5 kg)[25] |
KO (spinning back fist and punches) |
1 | 0:14 | |
| 8 | Lightweight |  Artiom Damkovsky[8]153.75 pounds (69.74 kg)[25] |
Mairbek Taisumov[10] 153.25 pounds (69.51 kg)[25] |
TKO (retirement) |
3 | 2:52 | Lightweight Championship bout[2] |
| 9 | Heavyweight |  Guram Gugenishvili[13]249.5 pounds (113.2 kg)[25] |
 Kenny Garner[18]249.5 pounds (113.2 kg)[25] |
Technical submission (guillotine choke) |
2 | 0:52 | Heavyweight Championship bout[2] |
| 10 | Middleweight | Alexei Belyaev[35] 184.0 pounds (83.5 kg)[25] |
Alexei Nazarov[36] 182.75 pounds (82.89 kg)[25] |
Submission (guillotine choke) |
2 | 0:50 | |
| 11 | Light Heavyweight |
Dmitry Samoilov[37] 198.75 pounds (90.15 kg)[25] |
Gadzhimurad Omarov[38] 205.0 pounds (93.0 kg)[25] |
TKO (doctor stoppage) |
3 | 0:28 |
Except where otherwise indicated, details provided in the record box are taken from Sherdog.[6]
M-1 Challenge XXII: Gallicchio vs. Zavurov
- Welterweight Championship bout:
Tom Gallicchio vs. 
Shamil Zavurov[3] - Middleweight Championship bout:
Rafal Moks vs. Magomed Sultanakhmedov[3] - Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Tomasz Narkun vs. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky[3]
References
- ^ "M-1Global offers opportunities for fighters around the globe in 2010". m-1global.com. December 11, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marciniak, T. (October 28, 2010). "Champions Crowned at M-1 Challenge 21". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Announcing M-1 Challenge XXII: Gallicchio vs. Zavurov". m-1global.com. October 28, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- ^ "Team Russia Red Devil defeats Team Holland at M-1 Challenge 2008 Finals". prommanow.com. January 12, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ Schaap, J. (December 4, 2009). "Clean Sweep by Russia Legion to Capture the 2009 M-1 Challenge Championship Cup". m-1global.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "M-1 Challenge 21 - Guram vs. Garner". sherdog.com. October 28, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Artiom Damkovsky: Eastern Europe Selection Champion Seeking M-1 Challenge Gold". m-1global.com. October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Artiom Damkovsky". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ "M-1 Selection 2010 Eastern Europe Finals". sherdog.com. July 22, 2010.
- ^ a b "Mairbek "Beckan" Taisumov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Photo Gallery: M-1 Selection Finals: Eastern and Western Europe". m-1global.com. July 23, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 1010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "M-1 Selection 2010 Eastern Europe Finals". sherdog.com. July 22, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Guram Gugenishvili". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ "Zayats vs. Baric Collision set for M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner". m-1global.com. October 21, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ "Maxim Grishin: "I have to be prepared for anything"". m-1global.com. September 24, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ "Maxim Grishin: "It's a pity that I can't fight for the title in October"". m-1global.com. October 23, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ "To Russia with "Deuce": Kenny Garner catapults into M-1 Challenge XXI Heavyweight title fight". m-1global.com. September 30, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ a b "Kenny "Deuce" Garner". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ a b "Victor "Tigri" Kuku". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Alexander "The Tiger" Sarnavskiy: Russia's Lightweight Beast". m-1global.com. September 16, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Magomed "The Eagle" Shikshabekov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Che Mills". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Magomed Shikhshabekov Out of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Due to Visa Problems". bloodyelbow.com. June 21, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "M-1 Challenge XXI weigh-in results". prommanow.com. October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "Daniel Weichel". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "Yuri "Cable Guy" Ivlev". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "Igor Araujo". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "Rashid Magomedov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Vusal Bairamov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Denis Goltsov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Marat Aliaskhabov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Mikhail Zayats". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Matias Baric". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Alexei Belyaev". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Alexei Nazarov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Dmitry Samoilov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Gadzhimurad Omarov". sherdog.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.