Marcin Tybura and Denis Smoldarev are set to meet Tuesday in China. | Photo: M-1 Global
The heavyweight main event of M-1 Challenge 53 in Beijing is now official, as Marcin Tybura and Denis Smoldarev were cleared to compete at Monday’s weigh-ins.
Polish unbeaten Tybura holds an 11-0 record, including five wins via submission and four via knockout. He captured M-1 gold in August by choking countryman Damian Grabowski unconscious with a north-south choke at M-1 Challenge 50. His opponent, Estonian judo specialist Smoldarev, is perfect through nine bouts with a 6-0 record inside the M-1 ring.
The card’s co-main event features Pride and Strikeforce veteran Sergei Kharitonov (258.5) taking on former M-1 titlist Kenny Garner (260), while another heavyweight duel will see Grabowski (254) square off against Latvia’s Konstantin Gluhov (243).
M-1 Challenge 53 Weigh-in Results
Marcin Tybura (248.5) vs. Denis Smoldarev (261.5)
Sergei Kharitonov (258.5) vs. Kenny Garner (260)
Damian Grabowski (254) vs. Konstantin Gluhov (243)
Muslim Salikhov (169) vs. Victor Sckoteski (169.5)
Pavel Vitruk (144.5) vs. Rafael Miranda (144.5)
Honggang Yao (136) vs. Nikita Chistyakov (136)
Rijirigala Amu (134.5) vs. Sergey Morozov (134)
Jianwei He (135) vs. Movsar Evloev (135.5)