12 Advance at M-1 Selection Event

Dream veteran Magomed Sultanakhmedov advanced in the M-1 Selection 2010 Eastern Europe middleweight tournament on Friday, as he knocked out Pavel Kusch 56 seconds into round three at the Yubileyniy Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The 25-year-old Sultankhamedov has won five straight fights, the last three of them by knockout. He set the tone early against the previously unbeaten Kusch, as he controlled the first round with superior grappling and striking. Sultankhamedov mounted Kusch near the end of the opening stanza and seized his back as the bell sounded. It was a sign of what was to come.

Kusch scored with a takedown early in round two but failed to keep his opponent grounded and met his demise less than a minute into the third.

Other middleweight winners were Dibir Zagirov (unanimous decision over Anatoly Lavrov), Alexei Belyaev (split decision over Gasan Imalatov) and Murad Magomedov (armbar submission against Ruslan Haskhanov).

Meanwhile, Alexander Sarnavskiy moved into the next round in the lightweight bracket, as he submitted Maxim Kuptsov with a rear-naked choke. The end came 4:03 into the first round.

An unbeaten 21-year-old, Sarnavskiy, after a brief stand-up exchange, dominated Kuptsov on the ground. He took his opponent’s back during a scramble, locked him in a body triangle and softened him with thudding punches from behind. Several minutes worth of punishment paid dividends, as Sarnavskiy, bleeding heavily from the nose, cinched a rear-naked choke and coaxed a back-handed tapout from Kuptsov.

Other lightweight victors were Karen Grigoryan (rear-naked choke submission against Magomed Magomedov), Arsen Ubaidulaev (unanimous decision over Yuri Saakyan) and Artiom Damkovsky (unanimous decision over Shamil Abdulkerimov).

Finally, Alihan Magomedov remained perfect as a professional and pressed on to the next round of the light heavyweight draw, as he submitted Ibragim Halilov with a rear-naked choke 44 seconds into the second period. It marked the first time Magomedov had been pushed into the second round.

Other light heavyweight winners were Rasul Magomedov (split decision over Ilya Malyukov), Shamil Tinagadjiev (rear-naked choke submission against Igor Savelyev) and Ratmir Teuvazhukov (triangle choke submission against Maxim Rozhkov).