M-1 Challenge Returns to U.S. on March 25
Chris Nelson Feb 17, 2011
Jose
Figueroa (left) will challenge Artiom Damkovsky on March 25. | Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com
M-1 Global will hold its first stateside M-1 Challenge event of the year March 25 in Norfolk, Va.
M-1 Challenge 24 “Damkovsky vs. Figueroa” will emanate from the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University. Newly-crowned lightweight champion Artiom Damkovsky is set to defend his title for the first time against 2010 M-1 Selection Americas tournament winner Jose Figueroa in the main event. Broadcast plans for the event have not yet been announced.
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In October, Damkovsky squared off against Western Europe tournament winner Mairbek Taisumov at M-1 Challenge 21 in St. Petersburg, Russia. After two and a half seesaw rounds, Taisumov, who went into the bout on a seven-fight win streak, declined to continue after receiving an inadvertent poke in the eye. Damkovsky earned the upset via technical knockout and joined the inaugural class of M-1 Challenge champions.
Figueroa, a gigantic 155-pounder at 6-foot-3, fights out of American Top Team in Orlando, Fla. The 26-year-old halted a three-fight losing skid -- including a brutal knockout at the hands of current UFC prospect Edson Mendes Barboza, Jr. -- by out-striking Joshua Thorpe in an August M-1 Selection Americas semifinal. Six weeks later, Figueroa won the tournament when opponent George Sheppard retired after receiving two accidental groin strikes.
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