The fight emanated from the sparsely populated Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The show was originally scheduled for Los Angeles but was moved on short notice after a falling out between M-1 and a company promoting an MMA expo that was to coincide with the event. The change in venue was cited by Don Frye as a reason why he pulled out of the main event against Lawal. The card, heavy on European talent with limited experience on U.S. soil, was the first M-1 event to air live on HDNet, which cut into the show to air live coverage of a space shuttle launch in Florida.
The event featured a playful grappling exhibition between Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi. Both fighters wore gi tops and MMA gloves. The fighters smiled through a series of takedowns and submission attempts, including several hard judo throws from Emelianenko. After about three and a half minutes, Emelianenko latched an armbar for a tapout. While half-hearted, the display did capture the close attention of the crowd, and both fighters threw out signed gloves to spectators afterward. Asked how an MMA fight would play out between the two, Mousasi told HDNet’s Ron Kruck that he is “not ready yet to face Fedor” and also noted that the two stars are represented by the same M-1 management team, thus it was “never going to happen.”
Two of the best fighters on the M-1 circuit, Lucio Linhares and Karl Amoussou, picked up emphatic victories via rear-naked choke. Linhares, a Finland-based middleweight, avenged a loss to Russia’s Mikhail Zayats in one minute by letting his hands go and following up on a knock down by sinking the choke. It was the fifth straight win for the 35-year-old Brazil native. Amoussou, Parisian knockout and judo artist, used a smooth jiu-jitsu sweep to mount EliteXC veteran John Doyle and eventually cinched the choke in the first round. The 23-year-old middleweight said he hopes to compete next in Strikeforce, which reached an agreement to co-promote with M-1.
In other “Breakthrough” action, Dream fighter Daisuke Nakamura used persistent jabs to batter judo specialist Ferrid Kheder, throwing in a few trademark flying armbar attempts for show and almost getting himself caught in an arm triangle in the closing seconds. Kheder was deducted 10 percent of his purse for missing the 155-pound weight limit. Holland’s Michal Kita defeated 12-year MMA veteran Lloyd Marshbanks after Marshbanks appeared to injure his right shoulder and tapped out roughly one minute into the match. Finally, in a heavyweight tilt originally set for Affliction “Trilogy,” Holland’s Jesse Gibbs defeated the U.K.’s Rob Broughton by decision. The bout’s sluggish pace drew boos from the crowd.