Jeff Monson defeated Alexey Oleinik via split decision in the headlining bout of M-1 Challenge 31 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday night.
Monson (44-13), a former contender for the UFC’s heavyweight belt, outclassed Oleinik (33-9-1) on the mat for a majority of the first and third frames, surviving a stifling second round to earn the narrow judge’s nod via scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. The 41-year-old Monson, who appeared to be running on fumes as the final bell sounded, has now split his last four bouts, rotating wins over Oleinik and Paul Taylor between losses to Fedor Emelianenko and Daniel Cormier.
Also highlighting the card, former PRIDE standout Alexander Emelianenko (19-5) overwhelmed Tadas Rimkevicius (19-7) midway through the second frame to earn a dubious TKO victory. Emelianenko, with his brother Fedor shouting from his corner, found his mark with crisp striking throughout much of opening seven minutes, before Rimkevicius turned away and tapped out on the feet. Afterward Rimkevicius appeared to be unhurt and left the ring under his own power.
Rashid Magomedov (14-1) outworked Yasubey Enomoto (9-4) to steal away the M-1 welterweight title via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-47, 50-45). The victory pushed Magomedov’s win streak to seven straight since 2010.
Elsewhere on Friday night, UFC veteran Mike Guymon (13-5-1) crushed Cris Leyva (9-4) for a second-round TKO win in the main event of BAMMA USA ‘Badbeat 5,’ held at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA.
Fresh out of retirement and making his lightweight debut, the 37-year-old Guymon survived a shaky opening frame to blast the fading Leyva with a mixture of hammerfists and knees to the body, before being mercifully stopped at the 4:10 mark of round two. It was Guymon’s first fight in over 14 months and first win since 2010.
In the co-main event, Scott Catlin (5-6) stormed back from early trouble to defeat UFC veteran and former WEC lightweight champion Gabe Ruediger (17-8) via TKO just 36 seconds into the second frame. Ruediger dominated the opening five minutes, locking in a body triangle and unsuccessfully hunting for a rear-naked choke throughout much of the action.
His first win in two years within his grasp, Ruediger promptly ate a straight left from Catlin to kick off round two. Stunned, the TUF 5 contestant reeled backwards across the cage before being dropped with a commanding flurry and pounded out. Catlin now finds himself riding a surprising two-fight win streak since tasting defeat in five straight.
Full M-1 Challenge 31 and BAMMA USA ‘Badbeat 5′ results can be found below.
M-1 Challenge 31 results:
Jeff Monson def. Alexey Oleinik via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Alexander Emelianenko def. Tadas Rimkevičius via TKO (punches) at 1:52 of round 2
Rashid Magomedov def. Yasubey Enomoto via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-47, 50-45)
Alexander Yakovlev def. Shamil Zavurov via TKO (retirement) at 5:00 of round 3
Deniss Smoldarev def. Denis Komkin via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Abdulmajid Magomedov def. Arthur Shumakov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:53 of round 1
Vugar Bakhshiev def. Jerome Bouisson via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
Marat Gafurov def. David Kozma via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:10 of round 2
Ilya Doderkin def. Alexey Martynov via submission (triangle choke) at 1:57 of round 1
Bruno Carvalho def. Ramazan Esenbaev via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
BAMMA USA ‘Badbeat 5′ results:
Michael Guymon def. Cris Leyva via TKO (punches) at 4:10 of round 2
Scott Catlin def. Gabe Ruediger via TKO (punches) at :36 of round 2
Chad George def. Shad Smith via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:56 of round 1
Mychal Clark def. Josh Bennett via KO (spinning back elbow) at 2:36 of round 1
Chris Beal def. Jose Morales via TKO (elbows) at 4:44 of round 1
Joe Condon def. Ismael Gonzalez via split decision
Jason Carbajal def. Bobby Sanchez via submission (triangle choke) at 3:05 of round 1
Eric Brown def. Brandon Anderson via submission (guillotine choke) at :20 of round 1
Gil Guardado def. Chris Costello via TKO (punches) at 2:21 of round 2