Brazilian fighter was confident in his abilities, but… Was it KO? Heliton Davela vs Bair Shtepin

On February 22, 2018, the M-1 Challenge 88 international mixed martial arts tournament took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. Heliton Dos Santos (Brazil), 15-6-1, fought Kalmykia's top fighter, Bair Shtepin (Bars), 5-2. Diego Davella's younger brother arrived in Russia with a slew of victories in various Brazilian mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu tournaments, earning 15 professional victories, 11 of which were knockouts. However, in his debut fight in the ranks, he was knocked out by Emil Abbasov, who had come on as a substitute during the weigh-in ceremony. Dos Santos learned from the defeat and put up a stunning fight against Scandinavian bantamweight champion Jane Elonen Kulmala, but the judges ruled the fight a draw. Heliton will have no room to retreat in his third fight under the M-1 Global banner, and the Brazilian fighter is the best at fighting to the finish. Like his future opponent, Bair Shtepin also fought his last fight against Finland's Jane Elonen Kulmala. However, the fighter from Kalmykia simply destroyed his opponent on all fronts – he smashed him standing, performed several excellent takedowns, controlled him on the ground, and with less than a minute left in the fight, Bair, mounted, forced the issue and secured a triangle choke on the Finn, forcing him to submit. In the past year and a half of competing in the M-1 Challenge ranks, Shtepin has shown tremendous progress as a fighter, and success in the upcoming fight could put him on the brink of a title shot. Every fight between Bair Shtepin and Heliton Dos Santos was a real show, a real battle, and given the current motivation driving both fighters, the audience was in for something incredible when they reached rank and the bell rang. #Fights #Knockout #Battle