The M-1 Selection Western Europe Finals take place on July 22, from Moscow, Russia. In the welterweight division we have a true rags to riches story, Berrie Bunthof who entered the tournament as part of a reserve bout, has made his way to the finals and will now compete against a man who was widely regarded as a favorite to win the welterweight division, Abner LLoveras.

Lloveras, enters the Western Europe finals riding a 5 fight winning streak. In the opening round of the tournament, Lloveras used a well placed knee to knockout a very tough Sunnat Ilyasov in the second round of the fight moving him forward to the semi-finals. Lloveras secured his finals bid by showing a well rounded game and finishing Miljan Jaksic at the 4:20 mark of the opening round of their fight by rear-naked choke. Lloveras is a tough fighter, one who is not easy to finish .

Bunthof, is the true Cinderella story of the tournament, a fighter who used his skill and a bit of luck to advance to the biggest fight of his professional career. Bunthof took part in a reserve bout in May 8th in the Netherlands for the right to step in should something happen to a tournament fighter that would render him unable to compete. As fate would have it Berrie got the call and just 21 days after his reserve bout ( which he won via triangle choke) , he found himself fighting in the semi-finals against Semih Arslan. With thoughts of the finals looming, Bunthof, defeated Arslan at 4:52 of the second round to earn his unlikely finals birth.

Will Bunthof’s magical run continue and propel him to the championship, or will Lloveras claim the victory that so many expect of him? These are just a few of the many questions that will be answered on July 22, from Moscow as M-1Global presents the M-1 Selection Western Eruopean finals.