NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 14, 2018) – Georgia middleweight Doug “Yamato” Usher and Yoislandy “Cuba” Izquierdo were knockout-winners this past Saturday night in the “Road to M-1: USA” main event and co-feature, respectively, at Global Mall in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Road to M-1: USA” was presented by M-1 Global USA and Angel Fight Promotions and aired live on worldwide pay per view.

“The Rage,” a hybrid ring/cage, made its American debut in Music City.

“What a great first event for M-1 Global USA,” M-1 Global USA CEO Mike Merriman said. “There were so many obstacles to overcome and lessons to be learned, but the show still went well. The fighters worked hard and the staff worked diligently. I couldn’t have asked for more. We are working on our next show and some possible partnerships that should make a lot of fans smile.”

Usher (10-3-0) overcame a relatively slow opening round to knockout his late replacement opponent, David “Redneck” Mundell (9-4-0), with a powerful right-left combination for his sixth consecutive victory, which snapped Mundell’s three-fight win streak.

Izquierdo (12-4-0), fighting out of Charlotte (NC) by way of Cuba, took care of business early, knocking out Damond Pickney (15-11-0), of Hot Springs, Arkansas, less than a minute into the opening round by way of a vicious head-kick.

Virginia bantamweight Tony Gravely (14-5-0) ruined the courageous comeback of previously undefeated Brazilian fighter Bruno Ferreira (8-1-0), who was making a comeback after successfully battling cancer the past three years. Gravely’s aggressive ground-and-pound attack resulted in a quick first-round technical knockout win.

Georgia flyweight Cee Jay “The Autobot” Hamilton (13-6-0) and California heavyweight Cody “The Moose” Goodale won three-round decisions, respectively, against Puerto Rican Abdiel “The Nightmare” Velazquez (8-6-0) and Nkemdirim “Kim” Oti (2-4-0)

Kentucky welterweight Brandon “The Juggernaut” Bell (9-7-0) registered a first-round, ground-and-pound TKO win over Jacob “Tick-Tock” McClintock (9-3-0), of Arizona, while Chicago welterweight P.J. Cajigas used the same method to defeat previously unbeaten Tennessean James Conway (3-1-0) in round two.

On the preliminary card, Chicago bantamweight Chris “The Jungle” Johnson (5-8-0) knocked out Jerrod “The Hillbilly Hammer” Jennings (2-2-0) in the first round. Kentucky lightweight Kegan Agnew (1-0-0) made an impressive pro debut, locking in a rear naked choke to submit hometown favorite Dwayne Herrelle (0-2-0) in the opening round.

Complete results and photo gallery below: