Showtime to Air 4 M-1 Challenge Events in 2011, Starting March 25
Mike Whitman Feb 18, 2011
Strikeforce
is no longer Showtime’s only partner in the MMA business.
Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the situation that M-1 Global has joined with the premium cable network to broadcast four events in 2011, beginning with M-1 Challenge 24 on March 25. Subsequent events will likely air in July, October and December.
M-1 Challenge 24 -- the promotion’s first event of the year held in
the United States -- will take place at the Ted Constant
Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in
Norfolk, Va.
The show will be headlined by a lightweight title tilt, as newly-crowned champion Artiom Damkovsky will defend his belt for the first time against 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament winner Jose Figueroa. Three weeks prior to that event, M-1 Challenge will kick off its fourth season with M-1 Challenge 23 “Guram vs. Grishin” on March 5 at Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
Damkovsky rides a five-fight winning streak into his first title defense. The Belarusian made his way through the 2010 M-1 Selection Eastern Europe lightweight bracket en route to capturing the tournament crown in July. The 26-year-old followed those three victories with the biggest win of his career, besting Mairbek Taisumov to capture the promotion’s world lightweight title.
A product of American Top Team Orlando, Figueroa recently snapped a three-fight skid with consecutive victories in the 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament. Prior to winning the tourney, Figueroa was defeated in his one and only Bellator Fighting Championships appearance by Luis Palomino at Bellator 21.
Reader comments are active below. Register an opinion by signing in with your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account.
Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the situation that M-1 Global has joined with the premium cable network to broadcast four events in 2011, beginning with M-1 Challenge 24 on March 25. Subsequent events will likely air in July, October and December.
Advertisement
The show will be headlined by a lightweight title tilt, as newly-crowned champion Artiom Damkovsky will defend his belt for the first time against 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament winner Jose Figueroa. Three weeks prior to that event, M-1 Challenge will kick off its fourth season with M-1 Challenge 23 “Guram vs. Grishin” on March 5 at Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
Damkovsky rides a five-fight winning streak into his first title defense. The Belarusian made his way through the 2010 M-1 Selection Eastern Europe lightweight bracket en route to capturing the tournament crown in July. The 26-year-old followed those three victories with the biggest win of his career, besting Mairbek Taisumov to capture the promotion’s world lightweight title.
A product of American Top Team Orlando, Figueroa recently snapped a three-fight skid with consecutive victories in the 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament. Prior to winning the tourney, Figueroa was defeated in his one and only Bellator Fighting Championships appearance by Luis Palomino at Bellator 21.
Reader comments are active below. Register an opinion by signing in with your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account.
Related Articles
