Ramazan Emeev (left) (photo via M-1 Global)

By Press Release

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (May 14, 2016) – An elbow injury has forced M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev (pictured to left) to withdraw from his June 16th showdown with  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 heavyweight champion Alexander “Drago” Volkov (25-6-0, M-1: 9-3-0) will make his first title defense against Attila “Pumuklo” Vegh (29-6-2, M-1: 0-0-0) at M-1 Challenge 68.  A match between Russian middleweight Valery “The Russian Hammer” Myasnikov (10-1-1, M-1: 1-1-1) and Spanish veteran Enoc Solves Torres(18-9-0, M-1: 5-6-0) has also been announced for the June 16th card.

“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,” M-1 Global presidentVadim Finkelchtein said.  “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.”

M-1 Challenge 68 will be streamed live from St. Petersburg in high definition onwww.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 Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.