Archive for August 2009
M-1 Challenge Extra
Read the hurtbusiness report of Team England’s decisive 5-0 win on the main site:
Hear our audio tribute:
The weekend highlighted the good and the not so good aspects of the M-1 Challenge. The first two matches meant something- with all four teams in with a chance of winning a tight group. Every fight mattered. MMA as a team sport making perfect sense. Each feature being enhanced by because of its effect on the bigger picture.
With Team England requiring a landslide- the most important fight was the opener. Scott Hewitt won and the rest is history.
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Germany v World team had less riding on it- but the make up of the teams was significant. Fighters like Danny Weichel believe they belong in the big time and putting on a show for the TV cameras can only help their causes.
The Challenge is great for providing international experience and exposure for fighters- but it’s a little premature for some. Team Turkey ’s record (1-14 including a 5-0 hiding by the Russian Legion on Sunday) suggests they are not yet ready for the step up.
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In an international tournament- it is easy to stereotype the competitors. The Russian Legion lads have sound grappling, as you’d expect from the wrestling loving country that invented Sambo. The most explosive demonstration came from Rustam Khabilov. The lightweight launched Akin Duran via a belly to belly suplex. The Turk crash- landed skull first onto the canvas and wasn’t getting up anytime soon. The big screen replays made for uncomfortable viewing as Duran’s neck was stress tested to near breaking point. Thankfully, the dazed Turk walked out of the ring unassisted (but he is unlikely to be able to watch a live tennis match without the aid of elephant tranquilizers.)
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Saturday night’s third match saw Germany defeat the World team. The heavyweight bout provided drama and a little comedy.
Early on, Miodrag Petkovic let his opponent have it. All that were missing were the shouts of “Timber” as the Thorsten ‘German Oak’ Kronz toppled face first. ‘Pele’ thought his work was done. Instead of making sure, he stood over his man and looked to the ref for confirmation of his KO win. No arms were waved. The Serb rolled his eyes and gave a world weary shrug of theatrical proportions: “Ah well: I’m just going to have to knock him out again”.
To everyone’s surprise, it didn’t play out like that. Kronz took a few more shots, but began to show signs of life. He opened a cut and this time it really was all over.
Blood, guts, a morality play and a couple of life lessons- all crammed into less than ten minutes.
How can you not love this sport?
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M-1 Events run like clockwork. Fights start at the exact time they are scheduled to. A novel experience for anyone used to attending UK MMA events.
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The ‘Mega Taping’ was held in a TV studio on a media park in Hilversum . Hopefully, next season Team England will be rewarded with a home fixture. Although I’m sure the global TV audience appreciate the slick production values- a raucous crowd getting behind their own team would enhance the spectacle.
More Pictures of Team England in Action
Post Fight Interviews
Tom Blackledge and David Butlin
Hear our audio tribute:
M-1 Challenge Preview
What’s the highlight of UK MMA in 2009 so far?
In a year when the domestic scene has stalled, with two attempts at national championships collapsing, the best news has come from overseas. The adopted Londoner Marius Zaromskis cleaning up at DREAM and the five British wins at UFC 99 in Cologne are definite candidates. Although watching Dan Hardy round off the clean sweep with his decision victory over Marcus Davis was satisfying (and hilarious after the photoshop and forum build up), the most impressive UK performance had happened a couple of months previously.
On a weekday morning at the end of April, fans around the country settled down in front of their computer screens to watch the live stream of Team England ’s debut in the M-1 Challenge. The mood was more of hope than expectation. Japan away in Japan . The home team looked strong on paper and then there’s all the weight and acclimatisation problems associated with long haul travel. Most of us were hoping for decent performances and, with a bit of luck, sneaking one or two wins. An honourable effort in tricky circumstances.
Team Japan 1: Team England 4. Unbelievable stuff. The result only tells half the story. The fights were genuinely exciting with the away team displaying skill and guts to achieve the 80% success rate.
The second outing, a 4-1 loss against France in June, means that Team England’s progression to the latter stages depends on what happens at the two-day regular season finale this weekend. Basically, our lads are first up against Spain on Saturday night and they need to smash the opposition to put the pressure on everyone else.
So, you’ve got a weekend with 30 top class MMA fights taking place at the same venue over two days. There’s the chance that Team England will pull off a dramatic result to push on into the semis. Could it get any better? Sorry, did I forget to say this is all going off in a place that is a 20 minute train ride from the centre of Amsterdam ?
Surprisingly, the M-1 Challenge hasn’t been getting the coverage it deserves in the UK . Forums are dominated by arguments about fights on shows that don’t get a column inch in their local rag but barely mention the British fighters who are on TV in 80 countries (including HDNet in the States). Courtesy of his star turns with M-1, Rob Broughton is now getting spots on major US cards. Unless you live under a stone, you may have noticed that M-1 have been in the news a little lately and their new relationships with DREAM and Strikeforce are only going to increase opportunities for the fighters they know and trust.
The elevation of Rob Broughton and the retirement of Ian Butlin mean that Scott Hewitt and Dave Keeley will line up for England on Saturday. Both will be hoping to emulate the example of Si Phillips. The welterweight announced himself on the world stage with a 20 second KO win at the Tokyo away match.
Getting through to the semis in Russia would be a huge boost for UK MMA, as well as for the current fighters and coaches of Team England . Anyone involved in UK MMA should be supporting them in any way they can.
hurtbusiness will be in the Netherlands to provide full coverage of the M-1 Challenge season finale.
The Ace blog of Team England Coach Aaron Chatfield
Event details including trailer
Why the M-1 Challenge is ace (2008)
hurtbusiness 