A former Ultimate Fighter contestant made short work of an overmatched opponent, and two M-1 champions were crowned, as M-1 had its first live event on Showtime Friday night.
The card was an important one for M-1, marking the first time the promotion got on premium cable without needing to put Fedor Emelianenko on the card and co-promote with Strikeforce, and for the most part the fights delivered: This wasn't the kind of high-quality MMA fans get with major UFC and Strikeforce shows, but the bouts were generally entertaining.
Vinny Magalhaes, known for making it to the final of Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, was by far the best-known fighter on the card. Magalhaes completely outclassed Jake Doerr, taking Doerr's back on the ground easily, sinking in a body triangle and landing punches until the referee stopped the fight, handing Magalhaes a first-round TKO victory.
In the night's main event, Jose Figueroa turned Artiom Damkovsky's face into a bloody mess and won a second-round TKO for the M-1 lightweight title. Although Damkovsky's corner thought it was a quick stoppage, Figueroa completely dominated Damkovsky, who just had no answer for his ground and pound.
In the co-main event, Magomed Sultanakhmedov beat Tyson Jeffries to win the M-1 middleweight title. Sultanakhmedov delivered a series of brutal knees to Jeffries against the ropes, and when a knee finally dropped Jeffries, the referee stepped in to stop the fight, giving Sultanakhmedov the TKO victory in the second round.
A good-looking prospect named Alexander Sarnavskiy improved to 13-0 in his MMA career, beating Beau Baker with a second-round rear-naked choke. And in the night's only fight that didn't really deliver, Jason Norwood used his superior wrestling to stay on top of Mojo Horne for three rounds and win a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges' cards.
The card was an important one for M-1, marking the first time the promotion got on premium cable without needing to put Fedor Emelianenko on the card and co-promote with Strikeforce, and for the most part the fights delivered: This wasn't the kind of high-quality MMA fans get with major UFC and Strikeforce shows, but the bouts were generally entertaining.
Vinny Magalhaes, known for making it to the final of Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, was by far the best-known fighter on the card. Magalhaes completely outclassed Jake Doerr, taking Doerr's back on the ground easily, sinking in a body triangle and landing punches until the referee stopped the fight, handing Magalhaes a first-round TKO victory.
In the night's main event, Jose Figueroa turned Artiom Damkovsky's face into a bloody mess and won a second-round TKO for the M-1 lightweight title. Although Damkovsky's corner thought it was a quick stoppage, Figueroa completely dominated Damkovsky, who just had no answer for his ground and pound.
In the co-main event, Magomed Sultanakhmedov beat Tyson Jeffries to win the M-1 middleweight title. Sultanakhmedov delivered a series of brutal knees to Jeffries against the ropes, and when a knee finally dropped Jeffries, the referee stepped in to stop the fight, giving Sultanakhmedov the TKO victory in the second round.
A good-looking prospect named Alexander Sarnavskiy improved to 13-0 in his MMA career, beating Beau Baker with a second-round rear-naked choke. And in the night's only fight that didn't really deliver, Jason Norwood used his superior wrestling to stay on top of Mojo Horne for three rounds and win a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges' cards.