New York City, New York (September 20, 2010) – The M-1 Selection 2010 Americas Finals captivated a live audience on Saturday night at Bally’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tournament returnees and newcomers to the M-1 ring fought an excellent undercard as the Selections championship bouts went down; Selection tournament winners will now fight for the M-1 Challenge belts later this year.
“The American Selections tournament has been a remarkable undertaking,” says Evgeni Kogan, Director of Operations for M-1Global. “We now have all our Selection champions in place and the crowning of the first ever M-1 Global world champions begins starting October 28 in St. Petersburg and December 11 back in Atlantic City.”
The Final round bouts feature rising American stars pursuing their last victory in being crowned the M-1 Selection champion in their respective weight classes.
Results for the Final round bouts:
- Josh Thorpe def. Brendan Weafer via unanimous decision
- Bristol Marunde def. Shane Primm via unanimous decision
- Byron Byrd def. Daniel Vizcaya via triangle – 2:43 of R1 (Selections LHW Final)
- Luigi Fioravanti def. Woody Weatherby via TKO – 2:51 of R1
- Mike Winters def. Jose Rodriguez via unanimous decision
- Tyson Jeffries def. Mike Geurin via triangle – 3:43 of R3 (Selections MW Final)
- Kenny Garner def. Pat Bennett via TKO – 2:31 of R1 (Selections HW Final)
- Jose Figueroa def. George Sheppard via verbal submission – :34 of R2 (Selections LW Final)
- Tom Gallicchio def. Len Bentley via rear-naked-choke – 4:38 of R1 (Selections WW Final)
The M-1 Selection 2010 – Americas champions will next fight for the M-1 Challenge championship belts in the coming months.
The M-1 Challenge events are positioned to drive the M-1 brand further into the US and European markets as event mega-spectaculars. October 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia is set for M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Grishin and M-1 Challenge XXII hits Atlantic City December 11th; February 2011 marks the first of six M-1Challenge events with M-1 Challenge XXIII where the newly crowned M-1 Champions will look to defend their titles against the top fighters in the contention system.
Fuelled with stacked undercards featuring new and returning warriors, the M-1 Challenge events will rival promotions for unsurpassed excitement, delivering live audiences and viewers worldwide the ultimate fan experience.
2011 marks a full calendar of mixed martial arts action as M-1 Global continues to build upon a highly successful Selections tournament. Being added next year are two full Selections tournaments featuring 12 live events across Eastern and Western Europe and the Americas; future superstars will begin mapping out the steps necessary to become M-1 Champions. These Selections tournaments will drive the depth of the contenders ladder in each weight class as warriors cross oceans to battle for the right to face M-1 Global champions at the live, mega-spectacular M-1 Challenge events scheduled throughout the year.
Go to www.M-1Global.com for additional information.