ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (May 14, 2016) – An elbow injury has forced M-1 Challenge middleweight championRamadan Emeev (afanekiselwa kwesokunxele) to withdraw from his June 16thYimpi nge Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko at M-1 Challenge 68 at Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Emeev (14-3-0, M-1: 8-1-0) suffered a torn ligament in his elbow during training camp, postponing his M-1 Grand Prix Middleweight Championship fight against Shlemenko(52-9-0, M-1: 3-0-0) to a future date pending Emeev’s recovery period.
M-1 Challenge iqhawe sosondonzima Alexander “Drago” Grez (25-6-0, M-1: 9-3-0) will make his first title defense againstAttila “Pumuklo” Vegh(29-6-2, M-1: 0-0-0) at M-1 Challenge 68. A match between Russian middleweightValery “The Russian Hammer” Myasnikov (10-1-1, M-1: 1-1-1) and Spanish veteranEnoc Kuyasiza Ekuxazululeni Torres (18-9-0, M-1: 5-6-0) has also been announced for the June 16th ikhadi.
“This is a tough blow for our organization because there is only one month before M-1 Challenge 68 and we have lost one of our main event fighters,” Umengameli M-1 GlobalVadim Finkelchtein wathi. “It was the most anticipated fights for fans. We still have a great heavyweight title fight between defending champion Alexander Volkov and challenger Attila Vegh and we’re looking for a suitable replacement for Emeev to fight Shlemenko. M-1 Global has been working under a lot of pressure recently but, never-the-less, we continue to promote great events for our loyal fans. We will do everything possible to keep our fans happy.”
