Tag Archives: M-1 Global

2017 M-1 Global Fighter of the Year   M-1 Challenge Lightweight Champion   Damir Ismagulov

SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (January 16, 2018) — M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Damir Ismagulov has been selected by mixed-martial-arts fans around the world as the 2017 M-1 Global Fighter of the Year.
Fighting out of Orenburg, Russia, the 26-year-old Ismagulov (14-2-0, M-1: 8-1-0) was 3-0-0 in 2017, all in M-1 Global action, including his M-1 Challenge lightweight title-winning performance, followed by one successful title defense.
Ismagulov, a native of Kazakhstan, started 2017 in grand style, knocking out Morgan Heraod of France, in the third round last February at M-1 Challenge 74.
Last May, Ismagulov faced former M-1 Challenge champion Maxim Divnich (13-2-0), at home, in Orenburg, for the vacant M-1 Challenge lightweight championship.
Their title fight commenced with a “feeling-out process” of simple exchanges of blows with Ismagulov working more with his feet, but the opening round ended with the hometown favorite holding a slight advantage.
Ismagulov, however, dominated the next three rounds and Divnich, whose severely damaged, bloody face showed the ill effects of Ismagulov’s continued assault, was unable to turn things around in the fifth. As the finish neared, Ismagulov failed to submit his game opponent until a barrage of unanswered punched rained on a defenseless Divnich. The referee halted the action with 13-seconds remaining on the clock for a hard-fought Ismagulov win by technical knockout.
After the fight 5,000 fans celebrated, roaring their approval for Ismagulov, who said, “I’m from the Orenburg region. I won the belt! Thanks for coming. I want to thank the MMA Orenburg, my coach,Victor Frolov, who saw me as a talent, and Alexander Shlemenko for believing in me. I thank my coaches, my family, and our fans.
“I’ve proved that a simple guy from a small village without the Internet can become champion. If I can, you can. The belt is in Orenburg, where it should be.”
Ismagulov is shown here in a ground-and-pound attack vs. Rogero Matias da Conceicao
Ismagulov won a hard-fought main event battle against upset-minded Rogero “Karranca” Matias da Conceicao, of Brazil, by way of a non-title, unanimous decision at M-1 Challenge 85.
Ismagulov defends his M-1 Challenge lightweight title February 22, when he takes on his Georgian challenger, Raul Tuturauli (18-3-0, M-1: 6-1-0), in the M-1 Challenge 88 main event at Olympic Stadium in Moscow.

 

 

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UPCOMING EVENTS:
 
Feb. 9 – M-1 Challenge 87: Silander vs. Ashimov, M-1 Arena, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Feb. 22 – M-1 Challenge 88: Ismagulov vs. Tutarauli, Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia

M-1 Global kicks-off 2018 in February with M-1 Challenge 87 & 88

SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (January 8, 2018) – M-1 Global will kick-off its 21stseason with a pair of international events in February, M-1 Challenge 87 and M-1 Challenge 88, respectively, Feb. 9 in Saint Petersburg and Feb. 22 in Moscow.
Both events will be live-streamed from Russia in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
Finnish flyweight Mikael “Hulk” Silander (17-5-0, M-1: 1-0-0) takes on Kazakh fighter Ariman Ashimov (10-2-1, M-1: 2-0-0) in the lone fight announced this far for M-1 Challenge 87, which will feature the grand opening of M-1 Arena. The Silander-Ashimov winner will be positioned for a potential title shot against M-1 Challenge flyweight champion Aleksander Doskalchuk, of Ukraine.
Mikael Silander (R) will be making his Russian MMA debut Feb. 9 in Saint Petersburg
  Ariman Ashimov hopes to improve to 3-0-0 in M-1 Challenge competition on Feb. 9
Two M-1 Challenge title fights have been announced as the M-1 Challenge 88 co-main events on Feb. 22 in Moscow.
M-1 Challenge Lightweight Champion Damir Ismagulov (14-2-0, M-1: 8-1-0), of Russia, defends his belt against his dangerous Georgian challenger, Raul Tutarauli(18-3-0, M-1: 6-1-0), while M-1 Challenge Bantamweight Champion Movsar Evloev (8-0-0, M-1: 8-0-0) puts his perfect pro record on the line against Kazakhstan-native Sergey Morozov (10-3-0, M-1: 5-2-0), who also fights out of Russia.
  Damir Ismagulov (on top) makes his second title defense Feb. 22
Raul Tutarauli (on top) gets his first title shot Feb. 22
Movsar Evloev (L) plans to keep his prefect record intact
  
 Sergey Morozov is hoping to upset Movar Evloev to become M-1 Challenge Bantamweight Champion
All fights and fighters are subject to change. Additional matches for M-1 Challenge 87and M-1 Challenge 88 will soon be announced.
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M-1 Arena grand opening and M-1 Challenge 100 to highlight 21st season for M-1 Global

In January the new M-1 Arena is scheduled to open in Saint Petersburg
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (December 29, 2017) — The grand opening of the state-of-the-art M-1 Arena in Saint Petersburgh, in addition to the celebration of M-1 Challenge 100 later in 2018, will highlight M-1 Global’s 21st season.
Plans in 2018 also include more events, expansion into new countries and, as the No. 2 MMA organization in the world, to keep giving its fans world-class competition, entertaining match-ups, innovative developments and even a few surprises.
M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelchtein discussed a few of these subjects (see below) prior to the holidays.
Can you tell us about the new M-1 Arena?
VF: “M-1 Arena is an absolutely unique structure seating a maximum of 3000. It is built in the form of the Colosseum, stone and wood, with an incredible dome made of glulam, which gives the place perfect acoustics. Not only can we promote sporting events, but also music concerts. M-1 Arena allows us to have even more events and realize new ideas like, for example, a reality show. M-1 Arena will be multifunctional but martial arts will be the main form of entertainment held there.”
M-1 Challenge was more international last year in terms of showcasing more fighters from different countries like USA, Portugal, UK, Canada, South Korea, China, etc.  Do you plan to expand your fighter base even more this year and, if so, what countries are you targeting for fighters?
VF: “Usually, we hire fighters from countries where our events are being broadcasted. If we have new contracts with the countries from where we don’t have representative fighters, or only have a few of them, we are going to increase their number. The same for countries where we’ve held events because fans desire to see the local athletes fighting in the Rage. We give them an opportunity to see that.”
With the success of female MMA stars around the world do you plan to add a female division in 2018?
VF: “One day we will probably create a female division in M-1 Global. Right now, though, we don’t have enough strong female fighters to do it, yet. As soon as we are ready to make this happen, it will be done, but we don’t want to open a new division just to check the box. We want the best fighters to compete at the highest level.”
M-1 Global is closing in on your 100th M-1 Challenge event.  Do you plan to promote your 100th event in 2018?  If so can you provide any additional information about when, where, special plans, etc.
VF: M-1 Global has already promoted more than 200 events, including 85 M-1 Challenges, which was created in 2008. I think that this event will happen either in Saint-Petersburg or in Moscow, but we still have a lot of time left and a dozen other events before it. We are going to take care of it a bit later.”
M-1 has developed fighters who’ve moved on to the UFC and other organizations.  How do you feel about that trend?  Does it frustrate you that you to spend time building a fighter and then have him move on, or do you look at it as a compliment that M-1 Global develops fighters who can compete in the UFC and any other organization?
VF: “We can consider this situation from different perspectives. I’m not happy to let my best fighters go, of course, but it is what it is, and we are not ready to compete with UFC yet. Sometimes our fighters leave us. From another perspective, we are happy that our fighters who leave keep winning fights and become the top competitors in other promotions. It proves that the level of M-1 Global fighters is equal to the level of UFC fighters. The top athletes who left M-1 Global for UFC are in top positions there and other promotions don’t have such results. Other organization may make their fighters popular but, as soon as they move to UFC, they start losing and get released.
“Our company is probably the second MMA promotion in the world and when some fighters move to the strongest league on the planet, they take a step forward, which I like much better than when they move to weaker promotions than M-1 Global just to make more money.”
Any plans to do anything different this year than in the past, outside of the grand opening of the M-1 arena and possible 100th event?
VF: “The main difference will be that we are going to have our own home, M-1 Arena, which means we will be able to hold even more events. We’d like to have two events each month, 24 events a year. We opened our own TV channel (M1global.tv) and next year, MMA fans from former Soviet Republics will have an opportunity to watch all the fights. Using our iOS and Android App, viewers from all over the world can watch old and new fights right now, and next year we are going to make it even better. We are also going to create our own studio to produce different content, probably a new reality show with fighters from different countries.”
Will you have showcase M-1 Medieval fights this coming year?
VF: “Apparently, we will have some medieval fights in 2018, but the only issue is that we have a lot of fighters under contract, so it is not easy to find a place for M-1 Medieval fights on our cards. We make knight fights in regions where they are popular, like in Ingushetia and Finland in 2017, because fans demonstrated to us that they want to see them. I hope one day we’ll have more resources for them.”

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M-1 Global’s 20th anniversary a smashing success in 2017

M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelchtein
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (December 27, 2017) — M-1 Global celebrated its 20thanniversary in style this past year, reestablishing itself as the preeminent mixed-martial-arts organization in Europe and Russia.
M-1 promoted 13 Challenges in 2017, 11 across Russia, as well as one each in China and Finland. Fighters from around the world competed including MMA superstars such as Sergey Kharitonov and Alexander Shlemenko, as well as rising stars Alexey Kunchenko and Artem Frolov.
M-1 Global founder and president Vadim Finkelchtein reviewed the 2017 season, answering a series of questions below:
Overall, how do you evaluate the 2017 M-1 Challenge season in terms of achievements and accomplishments as a promotional company?
VF: “First of all, we increased the number of events. Some were even rated among top 5 monthly sporting events on television, which is really an incredible achievement. We’ve almost finished building our new M-1 Arena and produced our own M-1 Be Strong Protein milkshake.”
You promoted events in different countries this past year like Finland.  Was M-1 embraced by those fans and, if so, why do you think so?
VF: “We held our first event in Finland and it was really successful. M-1 Challenge 82took place in Hartwall Arena, one of the largest venues in Finland, located in the capital of Helsinki. Many fans came to watch our promotion’s debut in that country and it became one of the biggest MMA events in Finland history. Scandinavia is a very interesting region for us. We have many fighters from Finland and next year we are going to hold another event there.
“We also had a big event in Harbin, China, which was a part of cultural program of Economic Forum. Many VIP visitors and thousands of fans gathered to watch the fights and it was a superb event. China is a prospective MMA market and we are going to work further, featuring more fighters from this country, and promote one or two event a year there.
“Next year, we are going to promote even more events in other countries, planning to hold M-1 Challenge shows in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, China, Finland, Germany and the USA.”
What was the M-1 highlight of the year?
VF: “This past year we had a lot of remarkable events and fights, so it’s very difficult to choose just one highlight. If I had to choose, the rematch between Alexander Shlemenko and Brandon Halsey was the highlight of the year. Thousands of people in Saint Petersburg on June 1st came to see the rematch and that liver-kick Alexander delivered made the crowd go crazy. In the first fight, Brandon won in 35 seconds, so Alexander wanted to revenge fast and it took him just 25 seconds. That was unbelievable and unforgettable!”
Compared to past years in what areas did M-1 improve in 2017?
VF: “Each year we have more high-level fighters and that is the main difference. MMA has been developing around the world and the competition is always getting tougher. Only the best fighters receive an opportunity to sign a contract with M-1 Global. We have an opportunity to choose the best fighters, increasing the level of fights, to make it impossible to predict the winners in advance. Furthermore, we increased the number of events and TV coverage with some new TV contracts worldwide.”
This was your 20th year.  When you started 20 years ago did you envision the success M-1 has had in MMA?
VF: “I could not imagine MMA would become so popular. I went through the entire MMA evolution and the past 20 years I’ve been working on the promotion to make it better each year. The path was not easy because many years ago this kind of sport was considered criminal. Many called it fights without rules and I had to work hard to make people think about it as a legitimate sport.”
M-1 added the flyweight division this past year.  Why and was it successful in the eyes of fans?
VF: “Flyweight fighters can produce incredible performances. It was necessary for us to create this division because we knew that there were lot of good flyweight fighters. They wanted to fight in M-1 and we made it happen. We already have the first champion and a several tough contenders. In 2018, the flyweight division will be very interesting.”
M-1 CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS
HEAVYWEIGHT (265 lbs., 120,2 kg)
VACANT
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (205 lbs., 93,0 kg)
VACANT
MIDDLEWEIGHT (185 lbs., 83,9 kg)
 
Artem Frolov (10-0-0 (M-1: 7-0-0), Russia
WELTERWEIGHT (170 lbs., 77,1 kg)
 
Alexey Kunchenko (17-0-0 (M-1: 9-0-0), Russia
LIGHTWEIGHT (155 lbs., 70,3 kg)
 
Damir Ismagulov (14-2-0 (M-1: 9-1-0), Russia by way of Kazakhstan
FEATHERWEIGHT (145 lbs., 65,8 kg)
 
Khamzat Dalgiev (10-1-0 (M-1: 7-1-0), Russia
BANTAMWEIGHT (135 lbs., 61,2 kg)
 
Movsar Evloev (8-0-0 (M-1: 8-0-0), Russia
 
FLYWEIGHT (125 lbs., 56,7 kg)
 
Aleksander Doskalchuk (8-1-0 (M-1: 3-4-1), Ukraine
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M-1 CHALLENGE 86 OFFICIAL RESULTS

Khamzat Dalgiev stops defending champion
Ivan Buchinger in opening round to capture
M-1 Challenge featherweight title
And the new M-1 Challenge featherweight champion…..Khamzat Dalgiev
INGUSHETIA, Russia (November 25, 2017) — Russian challenge Khamzat Dalgievended the three-year plus reign of Ivan “Buki” Bunchinger as M-1 Challenge featherweight champion, knocking the Slovakian in the opening round in last night’s M-1 Challenge 86: Battle of the Narts” main event, in Ingushetia, Russia.
M-1 Challenge 86 showcased MMA fighters from a dozen different countries: Russia, USA, Slovakia, Finland, Canada, France, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
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Buchinger (32-6-0, M-1: 7-2-0) originally captured his M-1 Challenge featherweight title more than three years ago, when he knocked out Tural Ragimov in the fourth round of their M-1 Challenge 52 Fight of the Night, also held in Ingushetia. Buchinger had made two title defenses, winning a five-round unanimous decision over Mansour Barnaoui atM-1 Challenge 62 on October 10, 2016, as well as in his last action this past June atM-1 Challenge 80 in China, at which he locked in a choke to defeat Timor Nagibin by fourth-round submission this past June.
The newly crowned M-1 Challenge featherweight champion, Dalgiev (10-1-0, M-1: 6-2-0), extended his win streak to 10 consecutive victories since he lost his pro debut.
Russian Mikhail Ragozin (9-3-0), M-1: 2-1-0) knocked out American Joseph “Leonidas” Henle (10-3-1, M-1: 1-1-0), who made his M-1 Global debut, on punches in the third round of the co-featured event that was contested at a 196-pound catchweight.
Finnish lightweight Aleksi Mantykivi (11-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0) and Canadian bantamweightChris “The Greek Assassin” Kelades (12-3-0, M-1: 1-0-0) both made strong statements against their Russian opponents in their M-1 Global debuts with submission victories. Mantykivi used a Guillotine choke to defeat Bashier Gagiev (5-3-0, M-1: 2-1-0), of Russia, in the second round, while Kelades employed a Kimura for his win over Russian Oleg Lichkovakha (8-2-0, M-1: 1-1-0) in the third frame.
In the main card opener, Kyrgyzstan featherweight) Busurmankut Abdibait Uulu (9-2-1, M-1: 1-0-1) punched out his Brazilian foe, veteran Diego Davella (18-7-1, M-1: 1-2-1), in the opening round.
On the preliminary card, Ukrainian welterweight Alexander “Iron Capture” Butenko(45-12-3, M-1: 11-2-1) registered the 45th win of his professional MMA career, when the doctor halted the action after one round versus Elerzhan Narmurzaev (4-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), of Kyrgyzstan. Georgian featherweight Soso “Stechkin” Nizharadze (5-4-0, M-1: 2-0-0) took a three-round unanimous decision over Russian Adam Gagiev (3-3-1, M-1: 2-2-0), Azerbaijan heavyweight Zaur Gadzhibabyev (6-1-0, M-1: 4-0-0) knocked outNikolay Savilov, of Russia, in the first round on punches, and Brazilian lightweightRubenilton “Rubinho” Pereira (8-5-0, M-1: 2-2-0) put Russian Lom Al-Nalgiev (14-6-0, M-1: 5-1-0) to sleep via punches in the opening round.
In a pair of pre-undercard fights, Russian bantamweight prospect Selem Evloev (4-0-0, M-1: 4-0-0) kept his perfect record intact, unloading a bevy of punches on UkrainianDmitry Orlov (2-4-1, M-1: 1-1-0) for a first-round technical knockout, while UkrainianYuri Chobuka (8-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0) improved his record to 8-1-1 with a first-round submission triumph by way of Guillotine choke versus Akhmadkhan Bokov (2-3-0, M-1: 2-1-0), of Russia, at a 150-pound catchweight.
Complete results, video of each fight, and more pictures below:
MAIN CARD
MAIN EVENT – M-1 CHALLENGE FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Khamzat Dalgiev (10-1-0, M-1: 7-1-0), Russia
WKO1 (Punches – 2:35)
Ivan Buchinger(32-6-0, M-1: 7-2-0), Slovakia
(Dalgiev won M-1 Challenge featherweight title)
CO-FEATURE – 196 LBS. CATCHWEIGHT
Mikhail Ragozin (9-3-0, M-1: 3-1-0), Russia
WKO3 (Punches – 4:59)
Joseph Henle (10-3-1, M-1: 0-1-0), USA
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Aleksi Mantykivi, Finland
WSUB2 (Guillotine Choke – 1:06)
Bashir Gagiev (5-3-0, M-1: 2-1-), Russia
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Chris Kelades 12-3-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Canada
WSUB3 (Kimura – 1:37)
Oleg Lichkovakha (8-2-0, M-1: 1-1-0), Russia
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Busurmankut Abdibait Uulu (9-2-1, M-1: 1-0-1), Kyrgyzstan
WTKO (Punches – 4:12)
Diego Davella (18-6-1, M-1: 1-2-1), Brazil
PRELIMINARY CARD
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Arnaud Kherfallakh (5-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0), France
WSUB1 (Guillotine Choke – 1:48)
Vaha Shankhoev (5-4-0, M-1: 4-3-0), Russia
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Soso Nizharadze (5-4-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Georgia
WDEC3
Adam Gagiev (3-3-1, M-1: 2-2-0), Russia
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Zaur Gadzhibabyev (6-1-0, 4-0-0), Azerbaijan
WKO1 (Punch – 4:33)
Nikolay Savilov (10-3-0, M-1: 3-1-0), Russia
WELTERWEIGHTS
Alexander Butenko (45-12-3, M-1: 11-2-1), Russia
WSUB1 (Arm-bar – 5:00)
Elerzhan Narmurzaev (4-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Kyrgyzstan
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Rubenilton Pereira (18-5-0, M-1: 2-2-0)
WKO1 (Punch – 3:08)
Lom-Ali Nalgiev (14-6-0, M-1: 5-1-0)
PRE – UNDERCARD
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Selem Evloev (3-0-0, M-1 3-0-0), Russia
WTKO1 (Punches 4:36)
Dmitry Orlov (2-3-0, M-1: 1-1-0) , Ukraine
150 LBS. CATCHWEIGHT
Yuri Chobuka (8-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukraine
WSUB1 (Guillotine Choke – 2:14)
Akhmadkhan Bokov (2-3-0, M-1: 2-1-0), Russia
 
(click on picture for ID’s)
 
 
 

 
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Ivan Buchinger defends   M-1 Challenge featherweight title vs.  Khamzat Dalgiev to headline M-1 Challenge 86

This Friday in Ingushetia, Russia
Ivan Buchinger (R) has been the M-1 Challenge featherweight champion for 3 years
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (November 20, 2017) – M-1 Global holds one of its final events of the year on Friday night, featuring M-1 Challenge featherweight champion Ivan “Buki” Buchinger in his title defense against challenger Khamzat Dalgiev in the M-1 Challenge 86: Battle of the Narts in Ingushetia, Russia.
M-1 Challenge 86 will be streamed live from Ingushetia in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
M-1 Challenge 86 will showcase MMA fighters from 12 different countries: Russia, USA, Slovakia, Finland, Canada, France, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
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Buchinger (32-5-0, M-1: 7-1-0), fighting out of Slovakia, captured his M-1 Challenge featherweight title more than three years ago, when he knocked out Tural Ragimov in the fourth round of their M-1 Challenge 52 Fight of the Night, also held in Ingushetia. Buchinger has made two title defenses, winning a five-round unanimous decision over Mansour Barnaoui at M-1 Challenge 62 on October 10, 2016, as well as in his last action this past June at M-1 Challenge 80 in China, at which he locked in a choke to defeat Timor Nagibin by fourth-round submission this past June.
After losing his pro debut, Dalgiev (9-1-0, M-1: 6-1-0), of Russia, has reeled-off nine consecutive victories to position himself as the top M-1 Global featherweight contender. In his last fight Dalgiev submitted Dragan Pesic at M-1 Challenge 79 with a heel hook and before that at M-1 Challenge 73, he earned a bonus Submission of the Night, using a choke to force Christian Holley into a second-round submission (see picture below).

In the co-featured event, to be contested at a 196-pound catch-weight, Russian favorite Mikhail Ragozin (8-3-0, M-1: 2-1-0) takes on debuting M-1 Global American, Joseph “Leonidas” Henle (10-2-1, M-1: 0-0-0).
Also scheduled to fight on the M-1 Challenge 86 main card are Finnish lightweight Aleksi Mantykivi (10-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0) vs. Russian Bashir Gagiev (5-2-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Canadian bantamweight Chris “The Greek Assassin” Kelades (11-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0), also making his M-1 Global debut, vs. Russian Oleg Lichkovakha (8-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0), and Brazilian featherweight Diego Davella (18-6-1, M-1: 1-1-1) vs. Busurmankut Abdibait Uulu (8-2-1, M-1: 0-0-1), of Kyrgyzstan.
The loaded preliminary card has Russian lightweight Lom-Ali Nalgiev (14-5-0, M-1: 5-0-0) vs. Brazilian Rubenilton “Rubinho” Pereira (17-5-0, M-1: 1-2-0), veteran Ukrainian welterweight Alexander “Iron Capture” Butenko (44-12-3, M-1: 10-1-1) vs. Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov (18-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0), of Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan heavyweight Zaur Gadzhibabyev (5-1-0, M-1: 3-0-0) vs. Russian Nikolay Savilov (10-2-0, M-1: 3-0-0), and Russian featherweight Adam Gagiev (3-2-1, M-1: 2-1-0) vs. Soso “Stechkin” Nizharadze (4-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0), of Georgia.
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M-1 CHALLENGE EVENT CALENDAR:
 
M-1 Challenge 86: Nov. 24, 2017 in Ingushetia, Russia

Damir Ismagulov takes decision in Super Fight over Rogerio Karranca 

M-1 CHALLENGE 85 RESULTS
M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Damir Ismagulov (on top) won a decision over Rogerio Karranca in their non-title, Super Fight at M-1 Challenge 85
MOSCOW (November 11, 2017) — M-1 Challenger lightweight champion Damir Ismagulov defeated Rogerio Karranca in a non-title, Super Fight last night in the M-1 Challenge 85main event, at the Ice Palace in Moscow.
In another true international MMA event, 10 different countries were represented by the 24 fighters: Russia, USA, Brazil, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Croatia, Switzerland and Spain.
Ismagulov (13-2-0, 8-1-0), fighting out of Russia by way of Kazakhstan, needed all five rounds to take a decision over his Brazilian opponent, M-1 Global pro-debuting Karranca (13-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0).
In the co-featured event, American featherweight Nate “The Train” Landwehr (10-2-0, M-1: 2-0-0) took a three-round decision from always tough Viktor Kolesnik (11-3-1, M-1: 2-1-1), of Russia.
Georgian light heavyweight Giga Kukhalashvili (9-3-0, M-1: 2-0-0), undefeated Russian lightweight Abubakar Mestoev (6-0-0, M-1: 6-0-0) and Kazakh flyweight Arman Ashimov(7-2-1, M-1: 2-0-0) all registered opening-round knockout via punches, respectively, over late replacement Sebastian Heil (6-2-0, M-1: 0-1-0), of Germany, Russian Alexey “Ataman” Makhno (16-6-0, M-1: 4-3-0) and Rodrigo “Bad Boy” Melonio (16-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), of Germany.
On the preliminary card, former M-1 Challenge champion Maxim Divnich (13-3-0, M-1: 7-4-0), fighting out of Russia, lost a decision to hot Russian lightweight prospect Ruslan Rakhmonkulov (11-1-1, M-1: 1-0-0), who was making his M-1 Global debut.
American featherweight “The Finisher” Josh Rettinghouse (16-4-0, M-1: 4-0-0) took a three-round decision over Ukranian Alexander Luna (21-11-0, M-1: 1-1-0), as did Ukrainian Andrey “Iron” Lezhnev (17-7-0, M-1: 5-3-0) versus Russian Ilfat Amirov (9-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0).
Russian middleweight used a rear-naked choke for a second-round submission win against Croatian Kristijan Perak (9-4-2, M-1: 0-3-2) and Russian bantamweight Sergey Klyuev(5-0-0, M-1: 3-0-0) remained unbeaten using an arm-bar for a first-round victory by way of an opening round submission of previously unbeaten Spaniard Oscar Suarez (3-1-1, M-1: 0-1-0).
Georgian flyweight Vazha Tsiptauri (3-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0) employed a Guillotine Choke for a third-round win by submission over his Swiss opponent, Frederico Gutzwiller (3-3-0, M-1: 1-1-0), while Maxim Yakobyuk (2-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) forced Victor “Tatra” Trushov (2-1-0) into a second-round submission in a battle of Russian heavyweights.
Complete results and photo gallery gallery (click on pictures for IDs):
 
MAIN CARD
MAIN EVENT – LIGHTWEIGHT SUPER FIGHT
Damir Ismagulov (13-2-0, M-1: 8-1-0), Kazakhstan by way of Russia
WDEC5
Rogerio Karranca (13-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Brazil
CO-FEATURE FEATHERWEIGHTS
Nate Landwehr (10-2-0, M-1: 2-0-0), USA
DEC3
Victor Kolesnik (11-3-1, M-1: 2-1-1), Russia
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Giga Kukhalashvili (9-3-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Georgia
WKO1 (Punches – 1:16)
Sebastian Heil (6-2-0, M-1; 0-1-0), Germany
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Abubaker Mestoev (6-0-0, M-1: 6-0-0), Russia
WKO1 (Punches – 3:27)
Alexey Makhano (16-6-0, M-1: 4-3-0), Russia
FLYWEIGHTS
Arman Ashimov (7-2-1, M-1: 2-0-0), Kazakhstan
WKO1 (Punches – 3:27)
Rodrigo Melonio (16-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Brazil
PRELIMINARY CARD
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Maxim Yakobyuk (2-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WSUB2 (Side Choke – 1:16)
Victor Trushov (2-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Vitaliy Slipenko (9-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Russia
WSUB2 (Rear Naked Choke – 2:19)
Kristijan Perak (9-4-2, M-1: 0-3-2), Croatia
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Ruslan Rakhmonkulov (11-1-1, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WDEC3
Maxim Divnich (13-3-0, M-1: 7-4-0), Russia by way of Ukraine
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Sergey Klyuev (5-0-0, M-1: 3-0-0), Russia
WSUB1 (Arm Bar – 0:45)
Oscar Suarez (3-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Spain
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Andrey Lezhnev (17-7-0, M-1: 5-3-0), Ukraine
WDEC3
Ilfat Amirov (9-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
Josh Rettinghouse (16-4-0, M-1: 4-0-0), USA
WDEC3
Aleksander Lunga (21-11-0, M-1: 1-1-0), Ukraine
FLYWEIGHTS
Vazha Tsiptauri (2-1-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Georgia
WSUB3 (Guillotine Choke – 0:32)
Frederico Gutzwiller (3-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Switzerland, 124,78 lbs. (56,6 kg.)

 

 
 

 

 

 
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Damir Ismagulov vs. Rogerio Karranca M-1 Challenge 85 Super Fight

 
Giga Kukhalashvili vs. Stephan Puetz in co-feature
Nov. 10 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia
 Damir Ismagulov (R) is the M-1 Challenge 85 headliner
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (November 2, 2017) – The stars will be out November 10at M-1 Challenge 85, featuring M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Damir Ismagulov, at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia.
M-1 Challenge 85 will be streamed live from Moscow in high definition onwww.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
M-1 Challenge 85 is a true international event with representatives of 10 different countries: Russia, USA, Brazil, Germany, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Georgia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Spain.
Ismagulov (12-2-0, M-1: 7-1-0), fighting out of Kazakhstan, captured his title this past May at M-1 Challenge 78, stopping Maxim Divnich (12-2-0) via punches in round four. Ismagulov is riding a seven-fight win streak into this non-title, main event fight against Brazilian challenger Rogerio Karranca (13-2-0), who will be making his M-1 Global debut.
Georgian light heavyweight Giga Kukhalashvili (8-3-0, M-1: 1-0-0) steps up in class to take on former M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan “T-800” Puetz (15-3-0, M-1: 6-2-0, of Germany.
  Stephan Puetz (R) will try to position himself for another title shot
Other main card matches are American featherweight Nate “The Train” Landwehr(9-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0) vs. Russian Viktor Kolesnik (11-2-1, (M-1: 2-0-1), Abubakar Mestoev vs. Alexey “Ataman” Makhno (16-5-0, M-1: 4-2-0) in battle of Russian lightweights, and Kazakhstan bantamweight Arman Ashimov (6-2-1, M-1: 1-0-0) vs.Rodrigo “Bad Boy” Melonio (16-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), of Brazil.
The loaded preliminary card has seven fights: Russian lightweight and former M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Divnich (13-2-0, M-1: 7-3-0) vs. Russian Ruslan Rakhmonkulov (10-1-1, M-1: 0-0-0), Russian middleweight Vitaliy Slipenko (8-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0) vs. Croatian Kristijan Perak (9-3-2, M-1: 0-2-2), Georgian middleweightVazha Tsiptauri (2-1-0, M-1 0-0-0) vs. Frederico Gutzwiller (3-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0), of Switzerland, American bantamweight “The Finisher” Josh Rettinghouse (15-4-0, M-1: 3-0-0) vs. Ukrainian Alexander Lunga (21-10-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukrainian featherweightAndrey “Iron” Lezhnev (16-7-0, M-1: 4-3-0) vs. Russian Ilfat Amirov (9-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Spanish bantamweight Oscar Suarez (3-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0) vs. Russian Sergey Klyuev (4-0-0, M-1: 2-0-0), and Russian heavyweight Victor “Tatra” Trushnov (2-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0) vs. fellow countryman Maxim Yakobyuk (1-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0).
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M-1 CHALLENGE EVENT CALENDAR:
 
M-1 Challenge 85: November 10, 2017 in Moscow, Russia

Brandon Halsey defeats Mikhail Ragozin by Decision in light heavyweight Super Fight

 
Aleksander Doskalchuk captures inaugural
M-1 Challenge flyweight championship
 
M-1 CHALLENGE 83 RESULTS

 Brandon Halsey recorded his first M-1 Global victory
KAZAN, Russia (September 23, 2017) – American MMA fighter Brandon “Bull” Halsey, fighting as a light heavyweight for the first time, won a hard-fought, three-round unanimous decision over his Russian opponent, Mikhail Ragozin, in yesterday’s (Saturday) M-1 Challenge 83: TATFIGHT 5 main event, marking the first international MMA event ever held in Kazan, Russia.
In the co-feature, Aleksander Doskalchuk became the first M-1 Challenge flyweight champion.
Eight different countries – Russia, USA, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, and Netherlands – were represented by fighters in this international event.
The 30-year-old Halsey (10-3-0, M-1: 1-1-0), fighting out of Huntington Beach, California, was a standout wrestler at the California State University in Bakersfield. He is a former two-time Bellator whose decision to move up to light heavyweight from middleweight, after him being stopped in the opening round ofM-1 Challenge 79 this past June to Russian MMA star Alexander Shlemenko, proved correct as he won a three-round decision over Ragozin for his initi  al M-1 Global victory, establishing himself as a leading contender for the coveted M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title.
Doskalchuk (8-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0), of Ukraine, used a choke hold to force Russian flyweight Vadim “Bad Santa” Malygin (11-3-1, M-1: 2-2-1) to tap out in the second round. Doskalchuk became the first M-1 Challenge flyweight champion.
In other main event action, Georgian lightweight Raul Tutarauli (18-3-0, M-1: 6-1-0) took a three-round unanimous decision over previously undefeatedVladimir Kanunnikov (8-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0, of Russia; American featherweightNate “The Train” Landwehr (9-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0) stopped his Russian foe,Mikhail Korobkov (13-3-1, M-1: 1-3-1), on punches in the second round; Kazakh bantamweight Sergey Morozov (10-3-0, M-1: 5-2-0) punched out Luan Fernandes (8-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0) in the second fame.
 
Nate “The Train” Landwehr celebrated his first M-1 win
The judges were very busy working the undercard as only two fights ended before the full distance with Russian featherweight knocking out his countryman, pro-debuting Rinat Shakirov in the third round, and Russian lightweight Viktor Kolesnik (11-3-1, M-1: 2-0-1) doing the same to Netherlands kickboxing specialist Brian Hooi (14-7-0, M-1: 0-1-0), only in the opening round.
Ukrainian light heavyweight Vadim Shabadash (5-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0) and Russian bantamweight Alexander Osetrov won unanimous decisions over, respectively, Russian Kirill Kusmin (2-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0) and pro-debuting Lenar Suleymanov, of Russia.
Russian light weight Alik Albagachiev (4-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) took a majority decision win from Russian Ruslan Khisamutdinov (4-4-0, M-1: 0-1-0) and Russian welterweight Vadim Sinitsyn (2-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) had the exact same outcome versus Timur Gilimzyanov (4-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0). Brazilian lightweightDiego Davela (18-6-1, M-1: 1-1-1) and Busurmankul Abdibait Uulu (8-2-1, M-1: 0-0-1), of Kyrgyzstan, fought to a three-round split draw.
Complete results and photo gallery below:
 
MAIN CARD
MAIN EVENT – LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Brandon Halsey (10-3-0, M-1: 1-1-0), USA
WUDEC3
Mikhail Ragozin (8-3-0, M-1: 3-1-0), Russia
INAUGURAL M-1 CHALLENGE FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Aleksander Doskalchuk (8-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Ukraine
WSUB2 (CHOKE – 1:26)
Vadim Malygin (11-3-1, M-1: 2-2-1), Russia
(Doskalchuk Won M-1 Challenge flyweight title)
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Raul Tutarauli (18-3-0, M-1: 6-1-0), Georgia
WUDEC
Vladimir Kanunnikov (8-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia)
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Nate Landwehr (9-2-0 (M-1: 1-0-0), USA
WKO/TKO (punches – 1:31)
Mikhail Korobkov (13-3-1, M-1: 1-3-1), Russia
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Sergey Morozov (10-3-0, M-1: 5-2-0), Kazakhstan
WKO/TKO2 (punches – 4:48)
Luan Fernandes (8-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Brazil
PRELIMINARY CARD
 
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Vadim Shabadash (5-2-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukraine
WUDEC
Kirill Kuzmin (2-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
WELTERWEIGHTS
Vadim Sinitsyn (2-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WMDEC
Timur Gilimzyanov (4-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Diego Davella (18-6-1, M-1: 1-1-1), Brazil
SD
Busurmankul Abditbait Uulu (8-2-1, M-1: 0-0-1), Kyrgyzstan
Viktor Kolesnik (11-2-1, M-1: 2-0-1), Russia
WKO/TKO1 (punches – 3:36)
Brian Hooi (14-7-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Netherlands
Alik Albagachiev (4-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WMDEC
Ruslan Khisamutdinov (4-4-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Nidzhat Imanov (2-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0)
WKO/TKO3 (punches)
Rinat Shakirov (0-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Alexander Osetrov (2-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WUDEC
Lenar Suleymanov (0-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia
 
 
 
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M-1 CHALLENGE EVENT CALENDAR:
 
M-1 Challenge 84: October 27, 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia
M-1 Challenge 85: November 10, 2017 in Moscow, Russia

M-1 CHALLENGE 83 WEIGHTS 

KAZAN, Russia (September 22, 2017) – The official weigh in was held today for tomorrow’s M-1 Challenge 83 in Kazan, Russia. See weights and pictures below.
M-1 Challenge 83 will be streamed live from Kazan in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
 
MAIN CARD
MAIN EVENT – LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
 (R) Mikhail Ragozin(8-2-0, M-1: 3-0-0), Russia 205 lbs. (93 kg)
(L) Brandon “Bull” Halsey (9-3-0, M-1: 0-1-0), USA 204 lbs. (92,8 kg)
 INAUGURAL M-1 CHALLENGE FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP — 5 X 5
(L) Aleksander Doskalchuk (7-1-00, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukraine 125 lbs. (56,7 kg)
(R) Vadim “Bad Santa” Malygin (11-2-1, M-1: 2-1-1), Russia 125 lbs. (56,7 kg)
LIGHTWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
(R) Vladimir Kanunnikov (8-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 153 ½ lbs. (69,6 kg)
(L) Raul Tutarauli (17-3-0, M-1: 5-1-0), Georgia 153 ½ lbs. (69,8 kg)
FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
(L) Nate “The Train” Landwehr (8-2-0 (M-1: 0-0-0), USA 144 lbs. (65,5 kg)
(R) Mikhail Korobkov (13-2-1, M-1: 1-2-1), Russia 143 OBS. (65,2 KG)
  BANTAMWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
(R) Sergey Morozov (9-3-0, M-1: 4-2-0), Kazakhstan 135 LBS. (61,3 kg)
(L) Luan Fernandes (8-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Brazil 133 lbs. (60,5 kg)
PRELIMINARY CARD
 
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Kirill Kuzmin (2-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 200 lbs. (91 kg)
Vadim Shabadash (4-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Ukraine 202 lbs. (91,7 kg)
WELTERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Timur Gilimzyanov (4-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 168 ½ lbs. (76,6 kg)
Vadim Sinitsyn (1-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 168 lbs. (76,3 kg)
LIGHTWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Diego Davella (18-6-0, M-1: 1-1-0), Brazil 149 lbs. (67,8 kg)
Busurmankul Abditbait Uulu (8-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Kyrgyzstan 149 lbs. (67,8 kg)
Brian Hooi (14-6-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Netherlands 153 lbs. (69,6 kg)
Viktor Kolesnik (10-2-1, M-1: 1-0-1), Russia 154 ½ lbs. (70,3 kg)
Ruslan Khisamutdinov (4-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 154 lbs. (69,9 kg)
Alik Albagachiev (3-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 154 lbs. (70 kg)
FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Rinat Shakirov (pro debut), Russia 138 lbs. (62,7 kg)
Nidzhat Imanov (1-1-0, M-1: 0-0-0) 138 ½ lbs. (63 kg)
BANTAMWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Lenar Suleymanov (pro debut), Russia 133 lbs. (60,6 kg)
Alexander Osetrov (1-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 134 lbs. (61,1 kg)
(all fights & fighters subject to change)
WHEN:           Saturday, September 23, 2017
WHERE:         Kazan, Russia
 
PROMOTER:  M-1 Global
LIVE STREAM: www.m1global.tv (9.00 a.m. ET / 6:00 a.m. in USA)
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M-1 CHALLENGE EVENT CALENDAR:
 
M-1 Challenge 83: Sept. 23, 2017 in Kazan, Russia
M-1 Challenge 84: October 27, 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia
M-1 Challenge 85: November 10, 2017 in Moscow, Russia