Sydney based welterweight Corey Nelson outstruck Alexander Butenko in their M-1 Challenge 80 fight on Thursday night. However Butenko, a Ukraine veteran with nearly 60 fights to his name, was able to control much of the encounter with his wrestling.
Butenko made his intentions clear in the opening two of the three rounds, uninterested in standing with the Aussie and using his strong wrestling to take Nelson to the canvas throughout. There, however, “Iron Capture” was unable to inflict any real damage with Nelson doing well to nullify his ground attack while making his way back to his feet on a number of occasions.
The final round was all Nelson. The top-tier Aussie welterweight punished an exhausted looking Butenko with his striking, dropping him a spinning back-fist. Unlike his opponent, Nelson was able to posture up and unload on the canvas landing a number of hard short shots to a bloodied up Butenko with the ref taking a good look at the situation. To his credit, Butenko was able to hold on and eventually worked his way for another takedown.
Alexander Butenko vs Corey Nelson M-1 Challenge 80: Battle in the Celestial Empire 2 Cant believe it wasnt stopped! pic.twitter.com/rwx0qZWMVo
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) June 15, 2017
The fight came to a close with the Aussie once again finding his feet and charging Butenko with a flying knee. The judges’ scorecards came back with a majority draw.
Alexander Butenko vs Corey Nelson M-1 Challenge 80: Battle in the Celestial Empire 2 Flying Knee after the bell pic.twitter.com/MldG2gBVqK
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) June 15, 2017
In the main event, Russian Sergei Kharitonov scored a devastating first round knockout against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, dropping the former UFC and Bellator fighter with a straight right hand. A full replay of the event can be found here at the promotion’s website.
Full event results can be found here.
Corey Nelson defends Superfight welterweight title in Sydney
