By Kelsey Mowatt
Despite a spirited effort, M-1 Global newcomer Yasubey Enomoto was unable to unseat welterweight champion Shamil Zavurov today in St. Petersburg, Russia, as the Russian fighter utilized his wrestling to score a unanimous decision win. (Pictured: Enomoto kicking Zavurov off)
Enomoto looked to keep the bout standing and rely on his accomplished Muay Thai skills, but time-and-time again Zavurov took the Swiss welterweight to the mat. While Enomoto largely negated the top game of Zavurov with an active rubber guard and several submission attempts, the champion controlled much of the action en route to the win.
“Tonight was a great night of fights featuring rising prospects and experienced veterans,” said M-1 Global Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “Enomoto put on a stellar performance in his debut outing, taking Zavurov the distance with an awesome display of Jiu Jitsu and striking. We can’t wait to see him back in the ring.”
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| Zavurov and Enomoto (right) |
In the card’s other title fight, renowned jiu-jitsu competitor Vinny Magalhaes faced a game Viktor Nemkov, who gave the former “Ultimate Fighter” cast member plenty to think about in the bout’s opening two rounds. Although Magalhaes managed to get the bout to the mat on several occassions, Nemkov nicely defended the submission attempts of his opponent, and bloodied Magalhaes with strikes from above.
In round three, a fatigued looking Magalhaes once again took the light-heavyweight to the canvas, but this time finished Nemkov off with a beautifully executed mounted gogoplata, neck crank combo. With the championship win, Magalhaes is now 6-1 after exiting from the UFC in 2009.
“Nemkov did a great job in a fight no one gave him a chance of winning; he did his best to control the fight and defended several of Magalhaes’ submission attempts,” Kogan added. “But there is a reason why Magalhaes sports highly decorated BJJ credentials and he once again delivered on a win with an astonishing mounted gogoplata. It was an impressive submission victory.”
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| Magalhaes (right) with his championship belt |
And in the card’s other feature attraction, noted middleweight Andrei Semenov returned to action for the first time since 2008, and took on fellow UFC vet Luigi Fioravanti. In an entertaining bout that was spent almost entirely on its feet, Semenov managed to outscore his American opponent for the unanimous decision win.
Here are the official results from M-1 Challenge XXV.
Official Results:
Ramazan Esenbaev def. Albert Akhmetov – 2:48 of R2 via TKO
Ramazan Emeev def. Murad Magomedov – Unanimous Decision
Juanma Suarez def. Arsen Temirkhanov – Unanimous Decision
Alexander Volkov def. Denis Goltsov – 3:06 of R2 via TKO
Maxim Grishin def. Vladimir Kuchenko – 3:11 of R3 via TKO
Mikhail Zayats def. Malik Merad - :51 of R2 via TKO
Alexander Yakovlev def. Christian Eckerlin – 3:16 of R2 via Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Welterweight Championship Bout:
Shamil Zavurov def. Yasubey Enomoto – Unanimous Decision
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout:
Vinny Magalhaes def. Viktor Nemkov – 1:42 of R3 via Submission (Mounted Gogoplata)
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| Alexander Volkov hitting Denis Goltsov |
