 ST. PETERSBURG, Rusland (Januar 26, 2016) – Reigning M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramadan Emeev will take on Brazilian challenger Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao in the second M-1 Grand Prix middleweight eliminator, Marts 4 på M-1 Challenge 65, i Moskva.
The first M-1 Grand Prix match of 2016 is set in the middleweight division as three-time Bellator champion Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko (51-9-0, M-1: 2-0-0) takes on former M-1 Challenge middleweight and light heavyweight titlist Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-3-0, M-1: 10-1-0)på M-1 Challenge 64, Februar 19 på Det Olympiske Stadion i Moskva.
The winners of Shlemenko vs. Vasilevsky and Emeev vs. Falcao will advance to the M-1 Grand Prix middleweight championship later this year.
“We tried to get the strongest middleweight fighters and did a great job to give fans the most spectacular match-ups,” M-1 Global præsident Vadim Finkelchtein sagde. “Every single fight is intriguing in M-1 Grand Prix. I can’t guess how these fights will end up. Every single fighter has his advantages. Derfor, I think all of these fights are 50-50.”
Emeev (13-3-0, M-1: 7-1-0), den 2015 M-1 Global Fighter of the Year, is a two-time M-1 Challenge middleweight champion. Born in Azerbaijan but fighting and training out of Markaxhkala, Rusland, Emeev originally captured the vacant M-1 Challenge middleweight crown in 2012 på M-1 Challenge 35, winning a decision over Mario Miranda. Emeev successfully defended his title in a rematch five months later with Miranda, who was stopped via strikes in the third round at M-1 Challenge 38.
In his next title defense, Emeev lost his title belt at M-1 Challenge 51 as Vasilevsky won by fourth-round stoppage via punches. Syv måneder senere i en omkamp, Emeev defeated Vasilevsky by first round submission (choker), and the champion defended his title this past December at M-1 Challenge 63, when American challenger Fioravanti Luigi was unable to continue fighting after two rounds.
Falcao may be making his M-1 Global debut at M-1 Challenge 65, dog, the Brazilian black belt holder is a veteran of 43 professional MMA bouts with 23 knockouts. The 34-year old Falcao split two fights with Vasilevsky and he was stopped by Shlemenko in the second round at Bellator 69.
M-1 Challenge 64 & 65 vil blive streamet live fra Rusland i high definition påwww.M1Global.TV. Seerne vil være i stand til at se de indledende kampe og hovedkortet ved at logge på registrere på www.M1Global.TV. Fans kan se alle handlingen på deres computere, samt på Android og Apple smartphones og tabletter.
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