SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (May 31, 2018) – The official weight in was held today fortomorrow’s M-1 Challenge 93 at Chelyabinsk, Russia.

American fighter Joe “Diesel” Riggs experienced a long, costly trip from the U.S. to Chelyabinsk to challenge undefeated M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Artiom Frolov in the co-featured event.

“On my way to Russia,” Riggs explained his journey, “we took an Uber to get to the airport. We had an accident. I wanted to take another Uber, but the cops would not let me leave, because they wanted to send me to the hospital to get checked. One of my cornermen had to go to the hospital because he was seated in the part of the car that has been damaged.

“I called the guys in M-1 Global and told them I was not going to make the flight to California. They were freaking out and said there is no way I could miss the flight and come the next day because it would mess everything up. I bought tickets for another flight to California, which would give me around 40 minutes to get in on time for the connection flight to Moscow. I had a choice of either taking my bags and staying overnight in California or leaving my bags and flying right away to Russia. I chose the second option, left my bags, and made it to Moscow. Now, I kind of regret that decision because it cost me around $20,000, which I will lose in sponsorship, but it’s all good, everything happens for a reason.

“Winning the belt would be a great end for my career. M-1 Global is a fantastic organization! This will be my fourth world title and it really means a lot for me. The guy I’m fighting, Artem Frolov, is not well-known, but he will probably be one of the best fighters I’ve ever fought! Anytime you fight for the title, you feel pressure. I was supposed to be the UFC champion when I was 22, but I would not show up for certain fights. I would not fight up to my potential and now I want to enter The Rage, show my best, and get that belt.”

 (R) Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko