Emeev vs. Shlemenko to Headline M-1 Challenge 68 on June 16

M-1 Global announced on Thursday that its middleweight champion will be in action on June 16 in the main event of M-1 Challenge 68. Ramazan Emeev will lock horns with Alexander Shlemenko in the grand finale of the M-1 Global Grand Prix Middleweight Championship tournament, though Emeev’s title will not be on the line during the battle.

Also slated for the marquee will be M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov making the first defense of his title against Attila Vegh.

Emeev, who first won the title by conquering Mario Miranda in 2012, lost it to Vyacheslav Vasilevsky in his first defense. However, the Dagestan native was able to recapture his throne by choking Vasilevsky in the first round in 2015. He successfully defended his belt last December by stopping UFC veteran Luigi Fioravanti. Emeev subbed Maiquel Falcao in the first to advance to the finals of the Grand Prix earlier this month.

Shlemenko, meanwhile, is a former Bellator middleweight champ, winning that promotion’s title by knocking out Falcao at Bellator 88 before losing it to Brandon Halsey. Shlemenko returned to M-1 after a 10-year absence in February where he toppled Vasilevsky via split decision at M-1 Challenge 64.

M-1 Challenge 68 will go down inside the Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia and will be streamed live in America on M1Global.tv.