Dmitriy Orlov vs. Mikhail Kuznetsov 4:24 R2
Bruce Souto vs. Payzula Magomedov 2:40 R3
Pablo Ortmann vs. Vyacheslav Bogomol 1:27 R1
Dmitry Tebekin vs. Artur Tyulparov 1:59 R1
Marcus Vinicius Lopes vs. Evgeni Myakinkin 3R unanimous decision
Daniil Prikaza vs. Maksim Melnik 1:54 R1
Viktor Kolesnik vs. Young Bok Kil 3R Draw
Abubakar Mestoev vs. Niko Samsonidse 3R Unanimous Dec
Raul Tutarauli vs. Mohamed Grabinski 3:50 R2
Valery Myasnikov vs. Amilcar Alves 3:00 R1
Ingiskhan Ozdoev vs. Alexey Valivakhin 3:22 R1
Evgeniy Goncharov vs. Daniil Arepyev 3R Unanimous Dec. Goncharov would get the body lock, lift, and deposit, including a clean belly to belly suplex in the 1st.
Zalimbeg Omarov vs. Elnur Veliev 3R Unanimous Dec
Emil Abbasov vs. H. dos Santos 2:39 R1
Khamzat Sakalov vs. Javier Fuentes 3R Unanimous Dec
Nikolay Goncharov vs. Maxim Pugachev 3R Draw
Dimitriy Mikutsa vs. Dmitry Tebekin 3R Unanimous Dec
Bair Shtepin vs. Won Jun Jang 2:33 R3
Anton Vyazigin vs. Yuriy Protzenko 3R Unanimous Dec
Timerlan Sharipov vs. Danila Prikaza 3R. Prikaza's striking game flows really well, as he's so loose and relaxed out there. He hit a flying knee early, & Sharipov began urgently struggling to take him down by any means necessary, only to have Prikaza was machine-gun him with strikes as Sharipov held him & tried to leverage him to the canvas. From the 1st few minutes, I thought Sharipov was totally wrestling based, but then he started landing nice right hand counters & even a spinning heel kick, which ironically opened up the takedown by making Prikaza respect his striking. Both fighters landed some good body shots in round 2, but Sharipov again had a big advantage once the fight went to the ground. Sharipov switched to north/south at the very end of the round looking for the arm bar finish since a few more seconds of control didn't matter at that point. He was dropping punches down when that went nowhere, but with Sharipov no longer controlling him, Prikaza stood & Sharipov followed him up, charging right into a big right hand for the knockdown. Prikaza dropped a big guard pass punch then saw the ref jump in, so he began celebrating. Announcer Sean Wheelock, who I really miss on Bellator commentary for his actual knowledge of fighting & great chemistry with Jimmy Smith (especially if Mike Goldberg is around to once again prove he hasn't learned anything about MMA in all these years), also thought the fight might be over even though he knew the exact time situation as the building was erupting for the surprise potential ending. It was that close but Sharipov did wind up being saved by the bell. Sharipov came out cautious if not slow in the 3rd, but Prikaza was doing too much waiting & clowning, really wanting to avoid getting taken down again but being so cautious that Sharipov was eventually able to enter with a left hook & get in on the legs. Prikaza worked for a Kimura for a long time, but never made any real progress toward that, or getting off his back in any other manner. I thought they could have stood this up given Sharipov was really just locking Prikaza down, but no bailout came for Prikaza, so Sharipov was able to walk away with the majority decision. Good match.
Ibragim Navruzov vs. Huoyixibai Chuhayifu Split Dec
Artem Kazbanov vs. Nosherwan Khanzada Unanimous Dec
Kurbanjiang Tuluosibake vs. Maksim Melnik Unanimous Dec
Amiran Gogoladze vs. Ibrahim Sagov 0:53 R1
Alik Albogachiev vs. Filip Narizhnyi 1:36 R1
Movsar Bokov vs. Igor Onoprienko 3:42 R1
Giga Kukhalashvili vs. Nurbek Ismailov 0:59 R1
Akhmadian Ozdoev vs. Alberto Vargas 2:45 R1
Arman Ashimov vs. Gadzhimurad Aliev 1:08 R2
Khamzat Sakalov vs. Charles-Henri Tchoungui 3R UD
Frederico Gutzwiller vs. Akaki Khorava 1:59 R1
Oleg Lichkovakha vs. Son Le Binh 5:00 R3
Boris Polezhay vs. Toni Valtonen 3R Unanimous Dec
Ruslan Shamilov vs. Moses Murrietta 3:10 R1
Arnaud Kherfallah vs. Patrik Pietila 4:22 R1
Medieval Match: Vladimir Nechiporenko vs. Yuri Slobodnyak
Keith Johnson vs. Alexander Butenko 3R Unanimous Dec
Juho Valamaa vs. Aires Benrois 4:52 R1 Unanimous Dec
Pavel Gordeev vs. Michel Silva 3R Unanimous Dec
Mikael Silander vs. Vitali Branchuk 3R. Branchuk was submitted by Pavel Vitruk in a match for the vacant M-1 Bantamweight Title at M-1 71 10/21/16, and has now moved down to flyweight, maintaining his speed but lacking the stamina for 3 rounds at such an awesome pace. Branchuk had a great first round, using the jab to set up big right hands. Silander's nose was marked quickly, and the doctor was checking whether it was broken midway through the 1st round. Silander was trying to use low kicks, but while they were sharp, Branchuk's handspeed was simply too much for him to deal with early & he was getting countered every time he used them. Silander was able to fight a different style in each round, while Branchuk did a few things well, but never really managed to adjust. Silander really picked up the pace to start the 2nd, fighting with a lot more urgency. By shifting tactics to an inside pressure game that looked to use short hooks & mix quadrants with his boxing, Silander was able to put Branchuk on the defense, and that opened up his kicks, as he was able to land when Branchuk was backing or circling away trying to reestablish a more suitable distance. Branchuk was always on his back foot, and could never get time or space for his counter punches. He tried to shift to the ground game shooting for a double, and although he ate a knee, he was able to stick with it & get the takedown on the 2nd push forward. Silander was able to get back up fairly quickly though, and really push the pace again, which was pretty much the beginning of the end for Branchuk, further negating his fast hands because he was just under fire & on the defensive. Branchuk was really feeling the pressure, and had slowed down considerably by the last minute of R2. Silander saw that Branchuk was tiring, and focused on wearing on him with his wrestling/clinch game to start the 3rd, with Branchuk continuing to use the ropes for assistance. Branchuk was much better off when he was forward rolling his way out of the reverse bodylock because the ref eventually had enough of him using the ropes & docked him a point, which was huge given the fight was a round a piece, but he would have been justified about 3 grabs before the deduction. The 3rd round wasn't nearly as entertaining as the first 2 because Silander was more in grinding mode, using knees from reverse bodylock & getting some takedowns when they were available. Silander finished strong with a rear naked choke attempt. Round 2 was the closest round by far, but I was surprised that Branchuk actually got it from a judge because Silander turned the tide right at the outset, & finishing strong should negate whatever credit Branchuk got for his takedown that he didn't do anything with. Good match.
Heliton dos Santos vs. Janne Elonen-Kulmala 3R. These fighters were very evenly matched, with decent skills in all areas. Although the fight didn't always have great action, it was very back & forth with both fighters having their moments in each round, and the close nature of the fight elevated it to the next level. Kulmala is perhaps the more technically sound of the two outside of a poor guard, but dos Santos is certainly the more explosive athlete & he'll take risks & get wild when he has the chance to do big damage. Kulmala looked to make this a grappling match early, but dos Santos defended his takedowns & wound up doing big damage with postured up or standing ground punches after catching Kulmala's kick & tripping him up. Dos Santos was really lighting Kulmala up on the ground because Kulmala's butterfly guard was essentially non-existent, at best he wrapped an arm around dos Santos's neck so he only took repeated solid punches, but most of the time dos Santos just had free reign to throw whatever bombs he wanted. Kulmala finally got back to his feet at the end of the 1st round, but couldn't get a takedown against the ropes, so he tried an ill advised belly to belly suplex, which backfired with dos Santos landing on top & finishing the round with another barrage of punches. I thought Dos Santos should just focus on getting top position because Kulmala clearly had no defense on his back, but instead he was content to slug it out in standup, which was starting to look to be Kulmala's advantage because he had the better timing. Kulmala walked into a left hand at the start of the 2nd, but as dos Santos tried to press his advantage, Kulmala was able to return the favor, countering with a left uppercut as dos Santos was closing distance, and this became the story of the rest of the match, with Kulmala not being consistent but getting the occasional well timed counter in that did good damage because dos Santos was coming forward at the time. Dos Santos landed a lead uppercut, but now Kulmala was able to drop down into a double leg. Dos Santos was slowing down in the 2nd, certainly at a big disadvantage flying all the way from Brazil to face the native, but although Kulmala had edged the standing portion & dos Santos didn't have nearly as much success in ground & pound after his late takedown as he did in the 1st, I thought the minute of top control landing more unanswered strikes swayed the round back into dos Santos' favor. Both fighters fought the 3rd as though they needed the round, with dos Santos pressing the action trying for the takedown, but Kulmala again doing a nice job of countering his entries with the left hand. The third round was nonetheless slower paced as both fighters were rightfully sucking wind. Dos Santos did his best to get a final run of ground & pound, but Kulmala defended his takedowns against the ropes. After the ref broke up a clinch on the ropes, both fighters just threw bombs for the last 30 seconds trying to get the finish or make the final impression with the judges. Again, this was a close round without a decisive winner. Dos Santos was the aggressor, and had a lot more control time while failing to get it to the ground, but also took a few of the better shots trying to initiate. I felt dos Santos definitely won at least 1 of the final 2 rounds, but with two Finish judges, they came up with a split draw. Good match.
Mikhail Zayats vs. Marcus Vanttinen 3R Unanimous Dec
Aleksandr Osetrov vs. Lenar Suleymanov 3R Unanimous Dec
Vadim Shabadash vs. Kirill Kuzmin 3R Unanimous Dec
Diego Davella vs. Busurmankul Abdibait uulu 3R Draw
Alik Albogachiev vs. Ruslan Khisamutdinov Khisamutdinov 3R Majority Dec
Viktor Kolesnik vs. Brian Hooi 3:36 R1
Maksim Grabovich vs. Timerlan Sharipov 1:57 R3
Danila Prikaza vs. Akhmadkhan Ozdoev 3R. Ozdoev claimed he could easily beat Prikaza on the ground, but would rather have an exciting standup fight. I'm doubtful of the former, but man, I'm sure glad he felt that way, as this was an insane striking contest. There are a lot of slugfests, but you never see the kind of reckless abandon these fighters displayed in the first round. They were just swinging all out with no regard to defense, reaching and lunging, it didn't matter as long as they maximized their own potential to do damage. Ozdoev fights with his hands down like he's Roy Jones Jr. except he's not particularly quick or athletic, and really just doesn't care about defense at all. Prikaza's 2nd strike was a head kick, but Ozdoev just ate it & didn't adjust. Prikaza is longer & was able to land straight shots on the outside then close the distance when it was too his advantage. Prikaza charged in with a knee, and just kept coming, setting off one of the most insane, explosive striking sequences I've ever seen. It was total movie stuff with both men just swinging as hard & as fast as they could, putting their whole body into every shot recklessly for about 15 seconds. After a few second breather, they were right back at it just as fiercely, this time with Ozdoev in hot pursuit & only slowing down because he bull rushed right into a high kick. Prikaza then dropped him with a right hand, but Ozdoev did a backward roll to standing then started firing right back with full power right hands. Man, this was just nuts! 2 minutes into the bout, Ian Freeman was already noting that "The law of averages tells you that one of them should be lying on the ground, the number of times they've been hit." Ozdoev was just getting more aggressive though, continuing to plow forward despite Prikaza timing him & cracking him on the way in. Ozdoev finally slowed down a bit toward the end of the round, trying to get his kicking game going including mixing in a spinning heel kick. Ozdoev had another charge in him though, but Prikaza countered Ozdoev's right hand with one of his own for another knockdown. Man, I don't know how Ozdoev kept getting up, as Prikaza's shots were hard enough if they merely connected with Ozdoev standing, but Ozdoev was probably tripling the impact by charging full speed ahead into them. Again, Prikaza came to life going all out for the finish, and again, instead of taking a second to recover, Ozdoev responded by winging more haymakers back at him. Ozdoev caught a kick & tried for the takedown, but Prikaza just kept punching him while he was hoping around trying to maintain his balance as Ozdoev held his leg. This was truly one of the best & craziest rounds I've ever seen, the most remarkable thing about it, I suppose, was the simple fact that both managed to survive it. One of the primary difference between the fighters was the way they measured distance & initiated their combos. Prikaza really gauged things with his left arm, and knew just how many steps he needed to be on point with his approach, while Ozdoev just bit down on his mouthpiece & did the Bald Bull charge ala Diego Sanchez. Prikaza was mixing techniques & locations well in the 1st, but shifted more & more toward headhunting in the 2nd because Ozdoev just seemed unwilling to protect his noggin. Prikaza wobbled Ozdoev with a straight right with a minute left in the 2nd, but Ozdoev managed to run away, in between wobbles, & grab a single leg when he was finally trapped against the ropes, getting the fight to the ground despite taking a big knee & a series of punches in the process, and nearly getting choked as Prikaza got rear naked choke hand position but couldn't get from the side around the back. Ozdoev shifted to his strength in the 3rd & got the early takedown. In a fitting example of just how crazy this fight was & just how fearless they were, Ozdoev started fixing his mouthpiece while Prikaza was trying to heel hook him. When Prikaza used the ropes to help get back to his feet, Ozdoev hit another single leg & Prikaza managed to lose his mouthpiece, presumably because he defended rather than fixing it. Prikaza continued going for submissions from the bottom, but it didn't matter since he'd already won the first two rounds. Prikaza won a unanimous decision. Sure, this might not have been the greatest technical match, but it's surely brawl of the year, and this kind of match is the reason most people watch MMA. Great match.
Zalimbeg Omarov vs. Sascha Sharma Unanimous Dec
Phil De Fries vs. Anton Vyazigin Majority Dec
Sergey Klyuev vs. Oscar Suarez 0:45 R1
Andrey Lezhnev vs. Ilfat Amirov 3R Split Dec
Vitaliy Slipenko vs. Kristijan Perak 2:19 R2
Josh Rettinghouse vs. Aleksandr Lunga 3R Split Dec
Ruslan Rakhmonkulov vs. Maxim Divnich 3R Split Dec
Arnaud Kherfallah vs. Vaha Shanhoev 1:48 R1
Zaur Gadzhibabayev vs. Nikolay Savilov 4:33 R1
Alexander Butenko vs. Elerzhan Narmurzaev R1 5:00
Rubenilton Pereira vs. Lom-Ali Nalgiev 3:08 R1
M-1 Best of 2017 in 60