A victorious Viktor Nemkov (photo via M-1 Global)

By Press Release

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (April 19, 2016) – M-1 Challenge light heavyweight championViktor Nemkov will defend his title May 27 against challenger Rashid Yusupov, headlining M-1 Challenge 66, in Orenburg City, Russia.

M-1 Challenge 66 will be streamed live from Moscow 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 Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.

M-1 Global also announced that former M-1 Challenge light heavyweight championStephan “T-800” Puetz will also return to action against M-1 Global-debuting Andrey Seledtsov.

Nemkov (23-5-0, M-1: 14-4-0) captured the coveted M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title this past December, taking a hard-fought 5-round decision from defending champion Puetz, who had won a 5-round split decision April, 2014 against Nemkov for the title.  Nemkov is a two-time M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion having defeated Vasily Babich (WSUB3 – arm-lock) for the vacant title that he then lost in his first title defense to Puetz.

A native of Kazakhstan who fights out of Russia, Nemkov will be making his initial title defense of his second championship belt against Yusopov.

The 23-year-old Yusupov (6-2-0, M-1: 3-1-0), fighting out of Sochi, Russia, has won four fights in a row to put himself into title contention.  A former Russian, European and World Amateur MMA champion, unlike many of his fellow countrymen from the North Caucasus, Yusupov is a dangerous striker whose signature moves are powerful kicks.  He is also a top-notch wrestler, evident by his M-1 Challenge victories against Charles Andrade and Martin Zawada.

Puetz (13-2-0, M-1: 4-1-0), fighting out of Munich, Germany, successfully defended his M-1 Challenge title twice, after beating Nemkov in their original championship match, against Luis Fernando Miranda (SUB2 – choke) August 15, 2014 at M-1 Challenge 50, and Valery Myasnikov (KO/TKO2 – punches) December 17, 2014 at M-1 Challenge 54. In a non-title fight this past May, Puetz stopped then M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura in the third round due to severely damaged broken nose.

The 28-year-old Seledtsov (5-1-0, M-1: 0-0-0) is a former Spetsnev solider who has a solid boxing, combat samba and MMA background.  The powerful Russian is the local White-Rex promotion champion.