· M-1 Challenge XXIV Recap & Results

Friday Night’s "M-1 Challenge XXIV: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa" treated fight fans with an exciting card full of finishes and highlights. Two new champions were crowned, and a host of new stars began their rise to the top from the Constant Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Broadcast on cable giant Showtime, the event and production was praised by M-1’s Evgeni Kogan, global director of operations for the Russian-based MMA promotion.

In the opening bout of the evening, Bryan Lasham took down Marcus Daniels and worked vicious ground-and-pound from his opponent’s guard, stopping Daniels in under a minute with a quick TKO stoppage.

Bethany Marshall then moved to 4-0 by attempting submission after submission until finally catching her opponent, Stacy Grant, with a leg lock early in the second round. The win was Marshall’s third consecutive submission victory.

Colton Smith made easy work of Brian Nielson by taking him down and employing great ground-and-pound before catching his opponent with a rear-naked choke submission in the fourth minute of their bout.

Heavyweights Johnny Curtis and Bobby Gurley were sure to provide the fans with fireworks as well. Rather than getting involved in a back-and-forth wrestling match, Curtis came right out looking to trade. The two would not trade long. Curtis landed a thundering shot to the body that crumpled Gurley, forcing the referee to stop the bout after only 36 seconds.

George Sheppard returned to his winning ways when he took advantage of an injured David Derby to take away TKO win. Derby appeared to have sustained the injury during an exchange and fell to the canvas in obvious pain, before Sheppard pounced and finished the fight.

In the final preliminary bout, Jason Hilliker took on Jesse Riggleman. Hilliker proved to be the aggressor, looking to end the fight quickly by attempting multiple standing guillotines. However, Riggleman was able to survive and escape by slamming his way out. Riggleman took advantage of the slams to gain top control, and eventually mount. Riggleman secured a guillotine of his own, one that Hilliker would not be able to escape; the end came just three minutes into the bout.

Undefeated lightweight Alexander Sarnavskiy continued his climb toward the top with an impressive victory over Beau Baker. Baker had repeated takedown attempts stuffed and was picked apart in the striking game. In the clinch, though, is where Sarnavskiy did the majority of his damage—landing several crushing knees to the body, while mixing in uppercuts. As Baker began to wilt, Sarnavskiy pounced, taking his back and securing a rear-naked choke submission at 2:32 of the second round.

The only fight to go the distance would be between Jason Norwood and Mojo Horne. Horne, who was once considered a top prospect, was taken down at will and controlled throughout the all three rounds. While not the most exciting fight of the night, Norwood looked great and may have much bigger things in store, provided the U.S. Army captain can continue to improve on his areas of weakness.

Undefeated prospect Jake Doerr came into Friday’s match up with “The Ultimate Fighter 8” finalist Vinny Magalhaes seeking a signature victory to advance his career. Instead, it was Magalhaes that made an emphatic statement. The well-known grappler took Doerr down quickly, passing to full mount, and looked to end the fight quickly. Foregoing a choke and armbar attempt, Magalhaes opted to keep the position and pounded away on Doerr until the referee stepped in at 1:47 of the first round.

In the first of two championship bouts, Magomed Sultanakhmedov clashed with Tyson Jeffries. Sultanakhmedov brutalized Jeffries with an all-out assault on his legs and mid-section. Sultanakhmedov used kicks, punches, and especially knees over the first and second rounds to weaken the Team Quest fighter. Finally, Sultanakhmedov landed a high kick and a series of knees to the body that dropped Jeffries to the canvas, forcing the referee to step in and save Jeffries from more damage. Sultanakhmedov became the M-1 Challenge middleweight champion and improved his professional record to 16-5.

The final bout of the evening culminated in Jose Figueroa taking the M-1 Challenge lightweight championship with a dominating performance over Artiom Damkovsky. It seemed from the very beginning that Figueroa had his opponent well scouted and had prepared an answer for every attack. The American Top Team product countered Damkovsky’s leg kicks with stinging jabs, and ducked under punches to work for the takedown. Once on the ground, Figueroa unleashed incredibly powerful strikes from the top. The punches took their toll quickly as Damkovsky was bloodied up by the time the bell ending the first round rang.

The second round saw much of the same. Damkovsky quickly ended up on his back again, with Figueroa pounding away. Once Figueroa advanced to mount, the fight quickly turned. Damkovsky was urged to defend himself from the onslaught, but could not muster enough defense to keep the referee from stopping the contest midway throughout the round. Although Damkovsky’s corner argued the stoppage, the correct call was made as Damkovsky looked a bloody and battered mess.

"M-1 Challenge XXIV: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa"Full Results:

Preliminary Card:

135 - Bryan Lasham defeated Marcus Daniels via TKO at 0:57 of Round 1
135 - Bethany Marshall defeated Stacy Grant via submission (heel hook) at 1:39 of Round 2
170 - Colton Smith defeated Brian Nielson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:19 of Round 1
265 - Johnny Curtis defeated Bobby Gurley via submission (verbal) at 0:36 Round 1
155 - George Sheppard defeated David Derby via KO at 1:50 of Round 1
135 - Jesse Riggleman defeated Jason Hilliker via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:13 of Round 1

Televised (Showtime) Card:

155 - Alexander Sarnavskiy defeated Beau Baker via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:32 of Round 2
185 - Jason Norwood defeated Mojo Horne via Unanimous Decision
205 - Vinny Magalhaes defeated Jake Doerr via TKO at 1:47 of Round 1

M-1 Challenge Middleweight Championship
185 - Magomed Sultanakhmedov defeated Tyson Jeffries via TKO at 3:07 of Round 2

M-1 Challenge Lightweight Championship
155 - Jose Figueroa defeated Artiom Damkovsky via TKO at 2:28 of Round 2