An injury has forced Team France lightweight Maktar Gueye off Saturday's M-1 Challenge card. Taking his place vs. Japan's Yoshiro Tomioka will be Frederic Fernandez.
Following his nine-second knockout of Team England’s Ian Butlin this past June, the stock of French lightweight fighter Maktar Gueye was riding high. And with Group A semifinal playoff implications at stake this Saturday at the M-1 Challenge at Hilversum, Holland at 22, Team France needs all the man-power it can get when it faces Team Japan. A win by France coupled with a Team England loss at the hands of Team Spain with put France in the playoffs and send Team England home early.
With Gueye taken off the roster at the last minute due to injury, Team France has turned to French Top Team featherweight/lightweight Frederic Fernandez as a replacement. When approached by M-1Global.com and asked if they felt their playoff chances had improved with Gueye off Saturday’s card, Team England officials actually seemed more concerned, feeling that Fernandez was a much more well-rounded fighter than Gueye and that he stood a good chance of defeating Japan lightweight Yoshiro Tomioka.
Both France and England are tied for first place in Group A with a 1-1 overall record and individual records of 5-5. The results of their performances on Saturday will dictate which team moves onto the semifinals. If both teams win their respective matchups, a tie-breaker of best individual record will be used. In the event that the teams are still tied, then head-to-head record will come into play, which gives Team France the advantage, as it defeated England by a 4-1 score on June 5 in Kansas City.
The current best-of-five lineup between France and Japan is as follows:
1. Lightweight (154 lbs./-70 kg): Frederic Fernandez vs. Yoshiro Tomioka
2. Welterweight (167.2 lbs./-76 kg): Gael Grimaud vs. Yuya Shirai
3. Middleweight (184.8 lbs./-84 kg): Christophe Dafreville vs. Yusuke Masuda
4. Light Heavyweight (204.8 lbs./-93 kg): Christian M’pumbu vs. Hideto Tatsumi
5. Heavyweight (+204.8 lbs./+93 kg): Akim Assenine vs. Yoshiyuki Nakanishi
Saturday and Sunday’s shows — combining for a total of 30 fights — will be available live on Internet PPV courtesy of M-1Global.com. One and two day pricing packages are available (price varies depending upon country — not available in the U.S. or South Korea). Tickets for the event at Studio 22 in Hilversum are also still available with ticket and PPV ordering both available through M-1Global.com.com.
