(PRESS RELEASE) -- ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - This Friday's M-1 Challenge 50: Battle on Nev in Russia features a pair of dangerous and skilled Polish heavyweights, M-1 Challenge champion Damian Grabowski (19-1-0, 6 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) and undefeated No. 1 contender Marcin Tybura (10-0-0, 4 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) in the newly elevated main event.
In the co-feature, M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz (10-1-0, 4 KO/TKO, 3 SUB), of Germany, makes his first title defense against Brazilian challenger Luis Fernando "Hulk" Miranda (12-1-0, 4 KO/TKO, 7 SUB).
The 6' 1", 240-pound Grabowski (pictured above with M-1 Global CEO/Founder Vadim Finkelchtein) has won six consecutive fights, highlighted by his M-1 Challenge title-winning performance November 14, 2013 against Kenny Garner, who Grabowski put to sleep in the third round with a choke hold.
Tybura exploded onto the M-1 Challenge scene in 2013, punching his way to a first-round win by submission against Chaban Ka in the semifinals of the 2013 M-1 Grand Prix, followed by an impressive win in the tournament final versus dangerous Konstantin Gluhov, who was choked into a first-round submission. His Grand Prix championship earned the 6' 3", 240-pound Tybura a title shot against Grabowski, originally scheduled March 14 but postponed until August 14 due to a neck injury suffered by Grabowski. Rather than stay inactive waiting to fight Grabowski, Tybura fought the best available heavyweight, Marco Perak, and stopped the Croatian in the third round by technical knockout (punches).
"Damian is a great fighter," Tybura said. "We know each other and I've supported his career. Now, my task is to stop him. I'm honored to fight him. The delay didn't affect my preparation very much. The most difficult moment was when I found out that he was out of our fight. Luckily, I got another fight and I didn't have to waste those preparations. I think I'm in better shape than for my last fight.
"I wouldn't say it's strange to be fighting a fellow Pole on an M-1 Global show, but it certainly is a big deal. I would have never thought that I would take part in this kind of fight, but I don't mind that somebody thought this fight had to be made. It is difficult to predict what will happen and whatever plan arranged by my coach will stay a secret until the fight."
Scheduled battle in Super Fights are Slovenian featherweight Ivan "Buki" Buchinger (26-4-0, 6 KO/TKO, 16 SUB) vs. Russian veteran Mikhail Malyutin (26-12-0, 5 KO/TKO, 8 SUB), Spanish welterweight Daniel "The Gladiator" Tabera (17-5-3, 4 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) vs. unbeaten Russian prospect Ilya Doderkin (5-0-0, 5 SUB), and Polish featherweight Kamil Maron (5-1-0, 0 KO/SUB, 2 SUB) vs. Russia's Nikita Chistyakov (1-1-0, 1 SUB). Also fighting on the man card is German lightweight Saba Bolaghi (1-0-0, 1 SUB) vs. Russia's Zulfikar Usmanov 6-3-0, 1 KO/TKO, 4 SUB).
Fighting on the preliminary card is Donetsk lightweight Vadim Russul (6-2-0, 1 KO/TKO/5 SUB) vs. Spain's Issac Alvaro Barrios Perez (1-0-0 (1 KO/TKO, 0 SUB), pro-debuting welterweights Stanislav Rogov, of Russia, vs. Adam Tsurov, of the Republic of Inqushetia, and Kazakhstan middleweight Dauren Ermekov vs. Khabib Isaev, of Russian, in their professional debuts.
Four Russian lightweights will compete in the semifinals of the Ros Stroilnvest Cup - Marat Balaev (pro debut) vs. Artem Glybchak (pro debut) and Anton Telepnev (6-4-0, 1 KO/TKO. 2 SUB) vs. Artur Gadzhiev - with the two winners facing off later in the card in the championship final.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
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.
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ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world's next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St Petersburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles and affiliates in Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged more than 150 events worldwide, including the M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the Showtime network in the United States. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport's top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2014 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global's Champions amongst the greatest in the sport. M-1 Global's greatest asset is renowned heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko.
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