Not Worried About Collecting Titles, Magomed Sultanakhmedov Plans To Win M-1 Belt

Magomed Sultanakhmedov (Photo courtesy of M-1 Global)

With wins in eight of his last nine fights, M-1 Global middleweight title contender Magomed “White Wolf” Sultanakhmedov is proving himself to be one of the promotion’s premier fighters.

Already a well respected fighter when he entered M-1 three years ago, Sultanakhmedov achieved a career high in 2010 by taking the promotion’s Eastern European tournament title, knocking out all three of his opponents in the process.

“I feel this past year was extremely successful for me,” Sultanakhmedov told MMAWeekly.com. “I was able to stay in good physical shape, made advancements in my training, and was able to recover from my ankle injury.

“I’m looking forward to continuing with this momentum.”

It was that ankle injury that Sultanakhmedov believes cost him his first loss in two years when he challenged Rafal Moks for the M-1 middleweight championship in December.

“I tried my best to hide (my injury), but Moks knew about it going in and capitalized on it,” said Sultanakhmedov. “Had I not tapped, I could have injured my ankle further and been out for a long period of time.

“I’m recovered and the win over Cruz was good. Now I’m looking forward to meeting Tyson Jeffries for the championship belt.”

As Sultanakhmedov mentioned, he will be part of M-1’s historic first event broadcast live on Showtime on March 25 from Norfolk, Va. It is an opportunity he intends on making the most of.

“I will do my best to put on a great fight and let the American fans see the level of fights M-1 puts on,” commented Sultanakhmedov. “For my first time travelling overseas, it is a very big deal to fight on Showtime, and I hope to come back to America again for another (show) on a great network.”

For his second attempt at the middleweight title, Sultanakhmedov will be facing up-and-coming Team Quest fighter Tyson Jeffries, who is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

“He is good at takedowns and he is a good fighter from a well respected camp,” said Sultanakhmedov. “I think my advantage is my stand-up game and striking. I will try to use this (advantage) the best I can and keep the fight standing up.”

While some fighters might let the prospect of winning a major championship and the reign afterwards distract them from the fight itself, Sultanakhmedov is not such a person.

“As great as an honor it is to be the champion, I’m really not concerned about amassing titles,” he commented. “Should I win, it’s just another win for me and I will be the best champion I can be.

“To be honest, I don’t make plans for the future. I take things one fight at a time and do the best I can to prepare and win.”

While he might not be familiar to American fans at the moment, Sultanakhmedov has an opportunity to change that on March 25 and show people all over the world that he’s one of the best in the 185-pound division.

“Thank you for your support,” said Sultanakhmedov in closing. “I will bring a good fight to everyone watching in America and hopefully will earn more fans.”