High Fives: Judges Need Not Apply

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UFC Fight Night 135 was not the only action-packed show that took place during the weekend of Aug. 24-26. M-1 Challenge 96 on Friday in St. Petersburg staged some pivotal matches, including a light heavyweight title clash, and Deep 85 Impact on Sunday in Tokyo provided some sensational finishes.



FIREWORKS AT 205 … The M-1 Challenge 96 main event was a light heavyweight title tilt between hometown fighter Khadis Ibragimov and Ukrainian Dimitriy Mikutsa. The heavy-handed Mikutsa is known for his boxing prowess, and it came as no surprise when he engaged in a firefight. Ibragimov, who was happy to oblige, used his speed advantage to good effect. Having secured a rear-naked choke in the second round, Ibragimov took back mount and kept squeezing until his counterpart tapped at the 4:30 mark. In claiming the light heavyweight strap, Ibragimov improved to 7-0. Mikutsa dipped to 9-4-1.



LOW-KICK MISERY … The M-1 Challenge 96 undercard included a featherweight scrap between talented Russian Viktor Kolesnik and American Daniel Swain. Kolesnik utilized chopping right low kicks from the outset. With Swain on his back, Kolesnik kept kicking the compromised leg until his adversary verbally succumbed to the punishment 4:21 into Round 1. The 22-year-old Kolesnik moved to 15-3-1 and emerged as the No. 1 contender for the M-1 Global featherweight championship. In defeat, Swain fell to 18-9-1.



BRUTAL BEATDOWN … In supporting lightweight M-1 Challenge 96 action, Brazilian Michel Silva faced unbeaten Russian Alexey Ilyenko. This eagerly awaited clash between two towering lightweight strikers was expected to be a closely contested affair. However, mere seconds into the bout, Silva felled Ilyenko with a perfectly placed right cross. He then dropped punches on his downed adversary from a standing position before moving to side control to continue the pounding. Though Ilyenko offered no resistance, the referee did not intervene, until belatedly calling off the beatdown 1:30 into Round 1. The win saw Silva improve to 20-7-1, with Ilyenko slipping to 8-1.

Victor Henry TKO's Takafumi Otsuka with a Spartan kick to the liver #Deep85 pic.twitter.com/QtTFYbHHfp

— Catch Wrestling U (@CatchWrestling) August 26, 2018

LIVER KICK … The Deep 85 Impact main event was a bantamweight duel between America’s Victor Henry and Japan’s Takafumi Otsuka. Early on, the pair duked it out on the feet, where Henry effectively employed low kicks. In the second frame, the Josh Barnett protégé came close to securing a rear-naked choke, but Otsuka defended. The third stanza saw the two bantamweights trading heavy leather. Henry ended proceedings with a front kick to the liver, as Otsuka crumpled to the mat 1:34 into Round 3. In victory, Henry improved to 14-5. Otsuka dropped to 24-15-2.

Head Kick KO and punches for Garcia in the 2nd round! #Deep85 pic.twitter.com/PZ6PkyVxf7

— Catch Wrestling U (@CatchWrestling) August 26, 2018

HEAD HUNTED … In supporting Deep 85 Impact action, American Alyssa Garcia met Japan’s Satomi Takano at 105 pounds. Garcia, who maintained a frenetic pace throughout, came close to connecting with a high right round kick in the first frame. The finish came in Round 2 and resulted from a Garcia left high kick followed by ground-and-pound, as she left the referee no choice but to wave off the contest at the 2:05 mark. With the win, Garcia upped her record to 4-5 and in doing so put the brakes on a three-fight skid. Takano slipped to 11-11.