Fans outside of the U.S. and Korea that can't watch "M-1 Breakthrough" on HDNet's live broadcast will have another option.
M-1 Global today announced that the still-to-be-finalized event, which takes place Aug. 28 in Kansas City, Kan., will be available via online pay-per-view for viewers outside of thosecountries.
The event, which features the U.S. debut of Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and a special sparring match between Red Devil fighters Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi, can be purchased on M-1 Global's official website for $9.95.
While the preliminary card of "M-1 Breakthrough" has yet to be finalized, the event will be headlined by Lawal and former UFC great Mark Kerr. "The Smashing Machine" stepped in on short notice when previous main-event participant Don Frye withdrew, citing the card's change in venue from its original Los Angeles locale.
The card has been heavily criticized by the public, but HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he was looking forward to the event – especially the grappling contest between Emelianenko and Mousasi.
Simon said as entertaining as Emelianenko's April grappling match with Shinya Aoki was, he expects this sparring session to be even better.
"Mousasi and Fedor are a little bit closer in weight, and also they're just unbelievable fighters," Simon said. "I think they're going to put on something special given that this is M-1's first big show. In their mind, it's the breakthrough show."
The full card currently includes:
MAIN CARD
* Mark Kerr (15-10) vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (4-0)
* Karl Amoussou (10-2-1) vs. John Doyle (8-8)
* Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gegard Mousasi (exhibition sparring match)
* Rogent Lloret (7-1) vs. Alexey Oleinik (24-4) (swing bout)
* Lucio Linhares (12-4) vs. Mikhail Zayats (8-3)
* Rob Broughton (10-4-1) vs. Jessie Gibbs (7-2)
* Lloyd "Kadillac" Marshbanks (17-8) vs. Michael Kitta (5-3)
* Ferrid Kheder (13-4) vs. Daisuke Nakamura (19-10)
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)
* Joe Wilk (5-2) vs. TBA
* Molly Ahlers-Estes (1-0) vs. Andrea Caplan (0-0)
