In Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, Nate Landwehr defended his M-1 Global featherweight title early friday afternoon at M-1 Challenge 102. The impressively entertaining Tennessee fighter once again put on another awe inspiring display of heart, determination, and skill in the second defense of his title. The champion got what he wished for in form of a rematch from earlier in his M-1 career when he took on Victor Kolesnick.

Landwehr Second M-1 Global Title Defense

As odd as it seems, Landwehr called for this rematch despite having won the initial contest. Landwehr defeated Kolesnick for first time at M-1 Challenge 85. The bout was another thrilling match as the two went a full 15 minutes. While the decision was split, Landwehr did not call for this because it was close on the cards. He called for it because it was an entertaining scrap.

That is just who Nate ‘The Train’ Landwehr is.

With this second title defense completed, Landwehr becomes the first foriegn*(Non-Russian/Western European) champion to do so. He is the second current M-1 champion to defend twice since the UFC struck a deal with the Russian promotion.

UFC and M-1 Global Partnership

The deal between the UFC and M-1 Global made the Russian organization a evaluatory/developmental league for the Western European/Russian regions. In this deal, the UFC included the option to sign M-1 champions after a set number of defenses. A source tells MMASucka that requirement is two.

This indicates that two M-1 champions are eligible to be signed outright by the UFC. The first was flyweight champion Aleksander Doskalchuk who defended his title for the second time at M-1 Challenge 99. As of Friday, Landwehr is the second.

Ready for the UFC

For Landwehr, his fights sell themselves. If that doesn’t please, he has a manner of speaking which ignites even the most deeply hidden fires within people. Not to mention he is a good fit in the UFCs featherweight division. The top of the division needs new contenders. Considering the resume of Landwehr, matching him with an opponent inside the top twenty makes perfect sense. A matchup with Andre Fili is promising, as is Landwehr vs. Darren Elkins.

At some point Nate Landwehr should be in the UFC. Now it seems like a matter of when.