On M-1′s Selections Americas Semi Finals on Saturday August 7th in Atlantic City, New Jersey, there were several potential bouts expected to deliver jaw dropping exchanges, precision striking and chess-match ground games but it was Aaron ‘The One Hitter Quitter’ Meisner vs. Tom “Da Tank” Gallicchio who closed out the night in epic fashion.
Gallicchio taps Meisner with a fight ending rear naked choke
“There were serious expectations for the bout between Meisner and Gallicchio based on their stunning performances throughout the tournament,” says M1-Global’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “These guys went to war and delivered. This is the proof that M-1 Global is seeking out and finding MMA’s next generation superstar athletes. Our European and American talent pools are extremely deep and our roster is growing.”
Needing to take a short delay in the fight after being hit with an unintentional kick to the groin, Gallicchio engaged Meisner in a striker’s battle and transitioned to submission attempts seamlessly. Meisner responded with securing a textbook Thai clinch and cracked Gallicchio with arena-echoing knees to the head and rib-snapping body kicks that dropped his opponent to the canvass; this all happening in the opening round.
Barley able to answer the bell for the third round, Gallicchio came out with fire in his eyes, stalked Meisner to the center of the M-1 ring and unleashed hell on earth. In the middle of furious, heavy exchanges, the pair ventured to the ground where Gallicchio took Meisner’s back and locked in a suffocating , world-class rear naked choked forcing the submission near the midway point of the frame.
“My hats off to Aarron,” says ‘Da Tank’ during his post-fight interview. “That was a war. Both my fights have been wars. This has got to be the toughest path to the Finals out of all the weight classes. Huge thank you to M-1 for giving me this opportunity and now I have to heal up and get ready for September 18th.”
With both fighter’s delivering amazing performances, look to see Meisner back on the canvas as an undercard bout on the September card. Gallicchio now faces Victory Athletic’s Len ‘The Lyger’ Bentley and his one-punch knock-out power in the Welterweight Finals.
The M-1 Selection – Americas tournament Finals take place live on Saturday September 18th at Bally’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tickets are available through www.TicketMaster.com. Doors open at 7.00 pm, first fight at 7:30 PM/ET.
Free broadcast coverage of the entire 2010 M-1 Selection tournament will be available at a later date to viewers worldwide on www.M-1global.com and selected affiliate partner sites.
