M-1 CHALLENGE 51: Fightspirit – M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev Defends title vs. challenger Vyacheslav Vasilevsky
M-1 CHALLENGE 51: Fightspirit – M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev Defends title vs. challenger Vyacheslav Vasilevsky
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (August 25, 2014) – M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev (11-2-0, 2 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) defends his title for the second time, Sunday, September 7 against fellow Russian fighter Vyacheslav “Slav” Vasilevsky (24-2-0, 10 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), headlining M-1 Challenge 51: Fightspirit at Izhorets Stadium in Kolpino, St. Petersburg, Russia.
M-1 Challenge 51 will be streamed live in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV.Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets.
The M-1 Challenge series has traditionally introduced a new wave of potential MMA stars, showcasing elite athletes from Russia and across Europe. M-1 Global is the No. 1 European MMA organization, as well as one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1998. Superstar Fedor Emelianenko, considered by many to be the greatest fighter in MMA history, has been the face of M-1 Global around the combat sports world for the past decade.
Emeev, who has won eight fights in a row, captured the coveted M-1 Challenge 185-pound title November 15, 2012, winning a highly-contested five-round decision over Mario Miranda at M-1 Challenge 35in St. Petersburg. Emeev successfully defended his crown April 9, 2013, knocking out Miranda in the third round of their rematch in St. Petersburg.
The 26-year-old Vasilevsky earned the right to challenge Emeev by winning his last seven fights. Vasilevsky was the M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion in 2010 having defeated Tomasz Narkum by second-round KO/TKO at M-1 Challenge 22 for the vacant title.
In the co-feature, unbeaten Russian Dzhambulant Kurbanov (6-0-1, 0 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) takes on Ukrainian veteran Alexander “Iron Capture” Butenko (34-9-1, 3 KO/TKO, 23 SUB) in an M-1 Challenge lightweight title eliminator to determine one of two challengers for the vacant title.
Kurbanov is a versatile fighter who is at his fighting best in the front or on the ground. He is attempting to go from prospect to contender against the much more experienced Butenko, who uses a strong ground attack and has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. A cousin of Alexey “The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik, the celebrated Russian heavyweight (49-9-1), Butenko has won 13 of his last 14 fights.
Additional M-1 Challenge 51 fights will soon be announced. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
