M-1 Challenge 54 & ACB 12 OFFICIAL RESULTS

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Puetz defends M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title with KO of Myasnikov Divnich stops Kurbanov for M-1 Challenge lightweight championship M-1 Global promoter Vadem Finkelchtein raises the hand of  M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz    PHOTO GALLERY BELOW ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Dec. 17, 2014) - M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan "T-800" Puetz (12-1-0, 5 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) retained his title and undefeated Russian Maxim Divnich(10-0-0, 5 KO/TKO, 1 SUB) captured the vacant M-1 Challenge lightweight championship in tonight's main event and co-feature, respectively, on the M-1 Challenge 54 & ACB 12 event, co-promoted byM-1 Global and ACB, at Palais des Sports Ice in St. Petersburg, Russia M-1 Global, which grew out of the League MMA M-1, traces its history back to 1997. It has promoted 180 events including nearly 10,000 fights. Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) burst on the Russian MMA scene earlier this year, highlighted by its Grand Prix that featured more than 100 fighters. Puetz, fighting out of Munich, Germany, stopped previously unbeaten Russian challenger Valery "The Russian Hammer" Myasnikov (8-1-0, 5 KO/TKO, 1 SUB) to successfully defend his crown for the second time since defeating Viktor Nemkov by five-round decision for the vacant title this pastMarch 14 at M-1 Challenge 46. Puetz' other title defense victory was last August 15 at M-1 Challenge 50, in which he Brazilian Luis Fernando "Hulk" Miranda tapped out due to a rear naked choke. New M-1 Challenge lgihtweight champion Maxim Divnich  Divnich remained undefeated by beating previously unbeaten Djhambulat Kurbanov (6-1-1, 0 KO/TKO. 3 SUB), of Russia, with a third-round technical knockout by punches. In a welterweight showdown, Russian veteran Beslan Isaev (31-7-0, 15 KO/TKO, 12 SUB) won his seventh consecutive fight, knocking out American welterweight Cody "AK Kid" McKenzie (15-56-0, 1 KO/TKO, 13 SUB) with a knee in the opening round. Rising Russian star Anatoly Tokov (19-1-0, 10 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) punched out Enoc Solves Torres (15-8-0), of Spain, in the third round of their middleweight fight, extending his three-year win streak to 11. American middleweight Luigi "The Italian Tank" Fioravanti (25-12-0, 9 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) blasted out Ruslan Khaskhanov (16-9-0, 3 KO/TKO, 11 SUB) midway through the first round with a series of punches. In preliminary bouts, Russian light heavyweight Artur Astakhov (10-2-0, 6 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) used an arm bar to force Evgeniy Guryanov (8-5-0, 4 KO/TKO. 3 SUB), of Ukraine, into submission in the third round, American lightweight Daniel "Agent Orange" Swain (12-4-1, 4 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) and Russian Zalimbeg Omarov (2-1-1, 2 SUB) fought to a three-round majority draw, and Alexei Kunchenko (8-0-0, 5 KO/TKO, 2 SUB) remained undefeated with a first-round knockout by punches over fellow Russian welterweight Grigoriy "Crusader" Kichigin (5-3-0, 1 KO/TKO. 3 SUB). Also fighting on the undercard, Russian lightweight Zaur Kasumov (4-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) defeated pro debuting Kazakh Arkhat Mynbaev (0-1-0) by way of first-round submission (rear  naked choke), Russian lightweight Muslim Makhmudov (4-3-0, 0 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) won a two-round decision over his Ukrainian opponent Evgeniy Boldyrev (0-1-0), and Russian bantamweight Rasul Albaskhanov (2-1-0, 2 SUB) used a rear naked choke to force Ondrej Skalnik (6-4-0, 2 KO/TKO, 1 SUB) to submit in the opening round. Complete results and picture gallery below: MAIN CARD MAIN EVENT - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS Stephen Puetz (12-1-0), Germany                      WTKO2 (3:13 - Punches)                 Valery Myasnikov (8-1-0), Russia (Puetz M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title) CO-FEATURE -- LIGHTWEIGHTS Maxim Divnich (10-0-0), Russia                          WTKO3 (1:20 - Punches)            Djhambulat Kurbanov (6-0-1), Russia (Divnich won vacant M-1 Challenge lightweight title) MIDDLEWEIGHTS Anatoly Tokov (19-1-0), Russia                          WTKO3 (0:54 - Punches)                Enoc Solves Torres (15-8-0), Spain Luigi Fioravanti (25-12-0), United States            WTKO1 (3:06 - Punches)              Ruslan Khaskhanov (16-9-0), Russia             WELTERWEIGHTS Beslan Isaev (31-7-0), Russia                               WKO1 (2:20 - Knee)             Cody McKenzie (15-6-0), United States PRELIMINARY CARD LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS Artur Astakhov (10-2-0), Russia                        WSUB1 (3:30 - Arm Bar)                    Evgeniy Gurynov (8-5-0), Ukraine Muslim Makhmudov (4-3-0), Russia                               WDEC2                                Evgeniy Boldyrev (0-1-0), Russia WELTERWEIGHTS Alexei Kunchenko (8-0-0), Russia                      WKO1 - 2:33 - Punches)                    Grigoriy Kichigin (5-3-0), Russia                                  LIGHTWEIGHTS Zalimbeg Omarov (2-1-0), Russia                                   MDraw3                          Daniel Swain (12-4-1), United States Yusup Raisov (4-0-0), Russia                    WSUB1 (1:48 - Rear Naked Choke)          Mikhail Kuznetsov (2-1-0), Russia                                Zaur Kasumov (4-1-0), Russia                 WSUB1 (1:54 - Rear Naked Choke)        Arkhat Mynbaev (0-1-0), Kazakhstan BANTAMWEIGHTS Rasul Albaskhanov (2-1-0), Russia            WSUB1 (0:23 - Rear Naked Choke)   Ondrej Skalnik (6-4-0), Czech Republic (L-R) -- Valery Myasnikov & Stephan Puetz  (top) Stephan Puetz finishes off Valery Myasnikov  (L-R) --  Dzhambulat Kurbanov & Maxim Divnich   (L-R) -- Max Divnich & Dzhambulat Kurbanov  Beslan Isaev on top of Cody McKenzie Cody McKenzie (R) strikes Beslan Isaev  (L-R) -- Anatoly Tokov & Enoc Solves Torres Anatoly Tokov  Luigi Fioravanti (L) strikes Ruslan Khaskhanov  (L-R) -- Luigi Fioravanti & Ruslan Khaskhanov  Zalimbeg Omarov (standing) & Daniel Swain  (L-R) -- Alexei Kunchenko & Grigoriy Kichigin (L-R) -- Yusup Raisov & Mikhail Kuznetsov  (L-R) -- Muslim Makhmudov & Evgeniy Boldyrev  Information     www.M-1Global.com   www.mixfight.ru   www.WMMAA.org  www.M1Global.TV Twitter & Instagram: @M1GlobalNews @VadimFinkelchtein Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244   ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world's next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St Petersburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles and affiliates in Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged more than 150 events worldwide, including the M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the Showtime network in the United States. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and matchups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport's top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2014 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global's Champions amongst the greatest in the sport. M-1 Global's greatest asset is renowned heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. 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