Middleweights take the stage in M-1 Selection Eastern Europe
The following part of the report follows the M-1 Selection Eastern Europe middleweight quarterfinals.
One of the most anticipated bouts of the night was the first middleweight showdown between two M-1 champions: Magomed Sultanakhmedov (won M-1 Selection Russia 2009 as part of Team Gorets) and Pavel Kusch (M-1 Selection Ukraine 2009 team competition winner). Despite the huge experience gap between the two, surprisingly enough, most of the pundits considered Kusch the favorite in the fight. Probably, it was how easily the Ukrainian beat his first 6 opponents that made them think so. He had won by submission in round one in all of his previous outings. However, Magomed is great in striking, his technique reminds of young Mirko Crocop: ferocious strikes coupled with great takedown defense.
Kusch started aggressively and he even managed to take Sultanakhmedov down in the opening round but he was unable to secure any submission. After that the events were repeating all the time: Kusch tries unsuccessfully to take Sultanakhmedov down who counters with various striking combinations. Kusch seemed to lose his steam as the fight developed. Sultanakhmedov started to take the lead, increasing the pressure. The end came in the third when Sultanakhmedov’s powerful punch met the Ukrainian’s attempts to get into clinch and sent him backwards to the ground. Referee called the bout. Sultanakhmedov won by knockout proving his outstanding ability to overcome any opposition.
The second bout followed the path of pitting classic match-up with striker in Anatoly Lavrov from Cray Bears of Perm against Dibir Zagirov from Moscow who trains under Alexey Oleinik which implies he feels extremely comfortable on the ground. Unlike the previous bout, the outcome was other way around. Time after time Zagirov found success grabbing the legs of Lavrov and taking him down. Parter control and Ground-and-Pound were dominating enough in the eyes of the judges to help Zagirov proceed to the semi’s in which he’ll meet Magomed Sultanakhmedov.
In the third middleweight bout Action Force’s Alexey Belyaev clashed with Gasan Umalatov from Crazy Bears. Naturally, in the evenly fought bout the fans kept cheering for Belyaev who’s hailing from Saint Petersburg. Umalatov started by punishing Belyaev with striking combinations but the home-crowd favorite weathered the storm and began to break Umalatov’s attacks clinching and taking to the ground just to dominate and pound actively himself. Umalatov was getting desperate until the last minute of the final round when he managed to break the steel hugs of Belyaev and unleash the striking combination in the stand-up. It was an exciting ending but still not enough to win the judges’ minds. Belyaev won by split decision.
The last middleweight bout turned out to be the most explosive one. Swiftly progressing Murad Magomedov from Rusfighters was set to lock horns with Ruslan Khakhanov from Legion.
From the first seconds the fighters were attacking each other trying to finish while standing or tirelessly looking to submit when the fight hit the ground. Virtually every second the fight could end from a submission but the potential victim would turn into predator and try his own submission attempt.
The high pace would not stop in the second round as Magomedov rushed forward but slipped while punching. He didn’t lose his composure and took the fight down and just in a slight moment he pulled Khaskhanov’s arm in a beautiful and unexpected submission in what was the true mini-sensation of the evening. Not only Magomedov defeated Khaskhanov but he managed to submit World Jiu-Jitsu champion nullifying his every single attack which justifies Magomedov’s great potential and makes him a fighter to keep your eyes on. His opponent in the semifinals will be Alexey Belyaev.
Written by Alxander Shuldyakov, translated by Michael Mazur
