Kazakh Unique or Greek Assassin? The Last M-1 Champion! Chris Kelades vs. Asu Almabaev
2026 · Wrestling · Wrestling
Kazakh Unique or Greek Assassin? The Last M-1 Champion! Chris Kelades vs. Asu Almabaev
Kazakh Unique or Greek Assassin? The Last M-1 Champion! Chris Kelades vs. Asu Almabaev
2026
Wrestling
On October 19, the M-1 Challenge 105 international mixed martial arts tournament took place at the Barys Sports Palace in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Ace Almabayev (Kazakhstan), 10-2, fought for the interim flyweight title against current champion Chris Kelades (Canada), 13-4. UFC veteran Chris Kelades quickly proved his prowess in the M-1 Challenge arena. After several victories, he earned a chance to face champion Alexander Doskalchuk. However, just a couple of weeks before the fight, Alexander suffered a serious injury in training. The decision was made to hold the fight for the interim title, and the Canadian's opponent was another Ukrainian fighter, Alexander Pletenko, who was the only one to defeat Chris in rage. In their second fight, Chris Kelades gained revenge in a tight battle and won the title. Asu Almabayev is a world and Asian champion in jiu-jitsu, as well as a Kazakhstani champion in hand-to-hand combat. He has 12 professional mixed martial arts bouts under his belt, including two M-1 Challenge fights, where he achieved stoppage victories by choke submission. After that tournament, he transferred to the Brave promotion and is now successfully competing in the UFC. #Knockout #Fight #M1