Tomorrow’s M-1 Challenge Playoff Semifinals will air live on Internet PPV via M-1Global.com on Saturday at noon ET. To order, submit your payment information through the SMS widget on the right hand side of the page. Below is a preview of one of the semifinal matchups, Team England vs. Russia Legion.
After not having a team of its own despite hosting an M-1 Challenge event in 2009, Team England made its formal M-1 Challenge debut as a five-man team in 2009.
When the season began for Team England, very few thought they had much of a chance to win Group A and advance to the post-season. While England is one of the most established nations for MMA of the countries currently involved in the M-1 Challenge, U.K.-based pundits were very critical of team manager Ian Dean’s and coaches Dave Butlin and Aaron Chatfield’s choices for its five-man roster.
In the face of second-guessing, Dean and his coaching staff did the best they could with the limited resources they had. Dean, who is currently running Cage Warriors Management, dipped outside of his own management firm in order to assemble the best team possible.
In a season of setbacks, England faced its first before the season even started, with highly-touted welterweight Jim Wallhead forced to miss the team’s April opener in Japan due to injury. Added in his place was Simon Phillips, a relatively unheralded fighter whom possessed heavy hands.
What the Team England roster lacked in “sex appeal,” it made up for in chemistry. Dean and his coaching staff arranged team training sessions encouraging its fighters living in the North of England to venture down South and bond and train with their new teammates. That chemistry was evident to M-1 officials during England’s trip to Japan, as the five-man team and two-man coaching staff were practically inseperable.
In addition to its strong team chemistry, Team England also displayed a level of showanship unrivaled by other teams involved in this year’s competition. During a pre-fight press conference, Ian Butlin stood up in front of the local Japanese media and guaranteed a 5-0 victory again the hometown team. Once the prediction was made, many scoffed at Butlin, as Team Japan was considered the pre-season favorite to claim Group A.
In the end, Butlin’s bold prediction was proven wrong — but not by much, as the Brits shocked M-1 Challenge officials by defeating Japan on its home turf by a score of 4-1. Suddenly, Team England, the team no one expected to make an impact, was in the driver’s seat.
However, in June, England lost control following a disappointing 4-1 loss to Team France in Kansas City. Following its outstanding performance, many had expected England to defeat France and the inconsistent showing in their first two outings left many baffled.
Unfortunately, England lost more than just their head-to-head matchup vs. France, as Ian Butlin’s 11-second knockout loss to Makhtar Gueye would prompt a medical exam back home in the U.K. that would reveal the existence of multiple facial fractures that had gone undiagnosed for several months. Considered the captain of the team, Butlin was forced to retire from MMA per the advice of medical officials.
Going into its regular season finale on Aug. 15 in Hilversum, Holland, the Group A title was still up for grabs with both Japan and France in contention. No longer in control of its own destiny, England not only needed to win, but needed to win big in its head-to-head matchup vs. Team Spain.
Despite the return of talented light heavyweight Tom Blackledge from injury after having missed the Team France matchup, England was not only without Butlin but also heavyweight Rob Broughton, who was forced to the sidelines due to his involvement with M-1′s first-ever “Breakthrough” event scheduled to take place several weeks later on Aug. 28.
Dean and his coaches recruited former England Football player Scott Hewitt to step in for Butlin and former professional basketball player David Keeley, the second tallest fighter ever to compete under the M-1 banner, to fill-in for Broughton. Adding to the drama was the fact that Blackledge was sick and Butlin and Chatfield were concerned with his physical condition. They were so concerned that a call was placed to Danny Giblin back home in he U.K. as the two coaches debated whether to pull Blackledge from the show.
Upon hearing that he was on the verge of being taken off the card, Blackledge protested and convinced his coaches to let him compete. The decision proved to be the correct one, as the TUF 10 assistant coach needed just nine second to defeat Spain’s Enoc Solves’ with a brutal head kick.
Blackledge’s victory helped England defy the odds yet again and a record a 5-0 sweep over Spain and clinching a berth in the ’09 Playoff Semifinals.
With Blackledge in the zone and Broughton set to return, England’s chances against the dominant Russia Legion team looked to be good. However, an re-injury sustained by Blackledge caused him to pull out of the semifinals, greatly hurting the team’s chances of going to the finals.
With Blackledge out, many consider Legion to be the heavy favorite. Not only did they go undefeated in Group D with a 3-0 record, but Legion also compiled a 13-2 individual record during the regular season. Making matters worse, Saturday’s playoffs will be held in Rostov, Russia, the hometown of Legion. While Team England members suffered through visa issues and less-than-ideal living quarters upon their arrival in Russia, Legion has had the benefit of home cooked meals and the luxury of being able to sleep in their own bed the night prior to the fight.
But if Team England has taught followers of the M-1 Challenge one thing this season, that is to never count them out. While adversity has caused some teams to crack this season, it has usually brought Team England closer together and motivated them to fight harder.
