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SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (September 14, 2018) – M-1 Global veterans and former champions recently expressed their thoughts and opinions about their M-1 experiences and tomorrow’s (Sept. 15) UFC Moscow card at Olympic Stadium in Moscow.
Alexei Oleinik, M-1 Global veteran, vs. Mark Hunt in UFC Moscow main event:
“M-1 Global is a great Russian promotion and I really enjoyed the time when I fought there. Each fight for me was another step in my career. We did not choose opponents, had rated fights, and took part in the Grand-Prix.”
Alexander Volkov, former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion:
“One of the best moments that I had in M-1 Global was the victory for our team at M-1 Selection. At that time there were team competitions in M-1 Global and I miss that format. Another great moment was when I won the M-1 Challenge heavyweight title. Every important fight is very memorable.”
“My first M-1 Global fights were in M-1 Selection team competitions, which helped me as a young fighter to start my career, find my place in this sport and understand that I belong to MMA. At the time it was a great opportunity for young athletes to demonstrate their skills and show up on local TV stations, so M-1 Global was the first step in my professional career.”
“UFC has a huge impact on development of the Russian MMA market. The partnership between M-1 Global and UFC gives M-1 Global many advantages on the local market and makes it much more attractive for Russian fighters. All mixed martial artists have a dream to fight in the UFC and now the way is clear. As we’ve seen many times, top fighters and champions from M-1 Global compete on the highest level in the UFC.”
Ramazan Emeev, former M-1 Challenge middleweight champion, vs. Stefan Sekulic at UFC Moscow
“I feel some responsibility for this fight because I’m fighting at home. Many friends and fans will come to root for me and I don’t want to let them down. I want to put on a great show, win the fight, and make everyone who’s supporting me happy.
“Since I’m fighting at home, I don’t have to fly somewhere and acclimate. In my previous fights I had to fly across the ocean to compete. Now, it’s their turn, and everything will be by my rules.”
Rustam Khabilov M-1 Global veteran, vs. Kajan Johnson at UFC Moscow
“There’s a great responsibility fighting at home when the crowd is waiting for you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s M-1 Global or UFC. Crowds are the same. Many friends and fans will be worried, and they’ll come to root for me, so I owe this victory to them. I must win. That’s why I trained three times as hard for this fight. Now, I’m anticipating an opponent. Everything will be fine.”
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, one of best MMA coaches in the world and father of UFC and former M-1 Global fighter Kabib Nurmagomedov
“M-1 Global is the history of Russian MMA and it’s not a coincidence that many fighters who started their careers in M-1 Global are very successful in the MMA world. M-1 Global was a foundation for mixed martial arts in Russia, faced some challenges, learned from their mistakes and kept moving forward. Most Russian fighters who are now signed with the UFC came exactly from M-1 Global.”
A strong Ukrainian with superior wrestling skills, Butenko (42-11-2, M-1: 9-1-0) is an eight-year MMA veteran who has found a welcomed home in M-1 Challenge competition and he has taken advantage of the opportunity. Riding a six-fight win streak, the 29-year-old Butenko captured the vacant M-1 Challenge lightweight title belt last June at M-1 Challenge 67, when he took a five-round unanimous decision over Artiom Damkovsky.
Butenko’s first title defense will be against one of the most popular MMA fighters in Russia, the fighting powerhouse Yandiev, who also is a strong wrestler, plus a solid Judo background. The rising lightweight star will be a certain fan favor because of his nationality as well as his style of fighting, resulting in first-round endings in all his pro fights to date.
Like Butenko, Branchuk (21-6-0, M-1: 1-2-0) also fights out of Ukraine. The 25-year-old fighter is a former M-1 Challenge bantamweight title challenger, who was riding an eight-fight into his last fight, in which he lost by fourth-round submission (choke) to the aforementioned Vitruk (see accompanying picture to left). In M-1 Challenge competition, Branchuk defeated Antun Racicone year ago, by way of a three-round split decision at M-1 Challenge 64.
Benkaci (13-7-0, (M-1: 2-1-0) is a grappling specialist from France. Known and highly respected for his great conditioning and endurance, he lost a disputed three-round decision in his M-1 Challenge debut to Nikita Chistyakov 1-½ years ago, but the talented Frenchman bounced back to knockout his last two opponents, Vadim Malygin andAlexey Naumov, respectively, by knee and punch.
The 24-year-old Yusupov (6-0-0, M-1: 4-0-0), fighting out of Dagestan, Russia, will be making his first title defense having captured his coveted belt this past May at M-1 Challenge 66, by way of a 5-round unanimous decision over defending champion Viktor Nemkov.
Puetz, 29, has won six of seven M-1 Challenge fights going into fifth title fight. The talented German (5 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) from Team Spirit burst upon the M-1 Global scene 2 ½ years ago, at M-1 Challenge 46, when he challenged M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Nemkov that ended in a 5-round split decision in favor of the new champion, Puetz.
