Here’s a pretty good way to avenge a title loss.
Alexander Shlemenko finished Brandon Halsey by TKO in just 25 seconds Thursday in the main event of M-1 Challenge 79 in St. Petersburg, Russia. A left kick by Shlemenko to Halsey’s body seemed to hurt the American fighter right off the bat and Shlemenko stopped the bout with a flurry of ground and pound.
Shlemenko, 33, lost the Bellator middleweight title to Halsey via 35-second submission in 2014. This was the first time the two have met since then.
Shlemenko (56-9, 1 NC) has now won four in a row since his knockout victory over Melvin Manhoef in 2015 was overturned when he tested positive for anabolic steroids in California.