“The blow was so strong that he knocked out his teeth right through the mouthguard. I didn't even immediately understand what was going on in my mouth, I felt like some kind of porridge. It turned out that a bridge with six teeth flew out, as the ones on which it was held broke. But I tried not to show that I had problems, I had to continue the fight "
So, a few days after the dramatic and bloody fight for the belt of the M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion, one of its participants, the Russian fighter Sergey Kornev, will tell in an interview.
This epic battle took place on September 30, 2012 at the M-1 Challenge 34 tournament in Moscow. Polish fighter Marcin Zontek has been a veteran of various European promotions, including KSW and Heroes Gate. In the M-1 Challenge, he immediately won two victories over the very strong Russian light heavyweights Igor Savelyev and Salim Daudov, after which he received the right to fight for the vacant belt of the organization's champion.
And his rival was one of the leaders of the Rostov club Legion, Sergei Kornev, who in 2009 led his club to the title of world team champions. In total, the Russian fighter at that time had 10 victories in 12 battles.
Two very experienced, technical, stubborn and uncompromising fighters fought for the champion's belt that evening, which guaranteed the audience an incredible duel in terms of the intensity of passions and emotions.