Shlemenko vs. Emeev, Volkov vs. Vegh set for M-1 Challenge 68 in June

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

After the completion of the semi-final stage of the middleweight Grand Prix, M-1 Global announced that Alexander Shlemenko and Ramazan Emeev will headline the tournament finale at M-1 Challenge 68 in June. The co-main event will feature a heavyweight title fight between Alexander Volkov and Attila Vegh.

The news was confirmed on the promotion’s official website.

Former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko is coming off a decision victory against former M-1 Global middleweight champ Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. He will meet the current M-1 middleweight champ Ramazan Emeev in the final of the Grand Prix. While Emeev’s championship is not at stake, the tournament winner is awarded the Grand Prix title and a $50,000 bonus.

The co-main event will feature former Bellator heavyweight champ and current M-1 heavyweight titleholder Alexander Volkov defend his title against fellow former Bellator champion Attila Vegh. Volkov is coming off a submission victory against Denis Smoldarev, while Vegh is on a two-fight losing streak.

M-1 Challenge 68 takes place June 16 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.