SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (October 4, 2017) – Undefeated M-1 Challenge welterweight champion Alexey Kunchenko will make his third title defense in the M-1 Challenge 84 main event against once-beaten challenger Sergey Romanov on October 27 at Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
M-1 Challenge 84 will be streamed live from Saint Petersburg 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 the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
In a battle of Russian welterweight fighters, Kunchenko (16-0-0, M-1: 8-0-0) is a Muay Thai specialist who captured his title on April 9, 2016, at M-1 Challenge 65, when Murad Abdulaev retired in the fourth round.
Kunchenko has made two successful title defenses, both won by way of unanimous decisions, against Abdulaev in a rematch and this past March in his last action versus Maksim Grabovich.
Kunchenko unloaded on Grabovich
Romanov (11-1-0, M-1: 5-0-0), who is also unbeaten in M-1 Global competition, defeating Arda Adas, Magomed Sultanakhmedov, Carlos Pereira, Andreas Birgels and Sergio de Fatima. Romanov is a strong striker with eight knockouts on his impressive resume.
Romanav was too much for de Fatima
Undefeated Russian middleweight prospect Artiom Frolov (9-0-0, M-1: 7-0-0) steps up in terms of quality opposition against dangerous Brazilian middleweight Caio “Hellboy” Magalhaes (10-3-0, M-1: 1-0-0) in a fight that has future title implications. Frolov is coming off back-to-back victories in M-1 main card fights against Talekh Nadzhafzade and veteran American fighter Luigi Fioravanti. Magalhaes has fought professionally in the UFC and in his M-1 Global debut at M-1 Challenge 78 last May, he choked Dmitry Voitov into an opening-round submission.
American middleweight Joe “Diesel” Riggs (45-17-1, M-1: 1-0-0) takes on Oleg Olenichev (9-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0) in an intriguing match-up. Another former UFC fighter, Riggs has also had success fighting in Bellator and Strikeforce. The battle-tested Riggs, who was born in Maine and fights out of Arizona, is riding a five-fight win streak. Olenichev made his M-1 Global debut in his last fight, this past June at M-1 Challenge 79, winning a three-round unanimous decision over Enoc Solves Torres (19-9-1), of Spain.
In other main card match-ups, Finnish bantamweight Janne “Jamba” Elonen-Kulmala (15-5-1, M-1: 1-0-1) throws-down with Bair Shtepin (4-2-0, M-1: 1-2-0), and Russian welterweight Temirlan Sharipov (3-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) takes on fellow countryman Maksim Grabovich (5-3-0, M-1: 4-3-0).
Two preliminary bouts are set as American heavyweight Philip “F-11” De Fries (12-6-0, M-1: 0-0-0) and Russian Anton Vyazigin (7-1-0, M-1: 3-0-0) square-off and Finnish lightweight Jani Salmi (9-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0) faces Russian Roman Bogatov (2-0-0, M-1: 2-0-0).
Additional bouts will soon be announced. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
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M-1 CHALLENGE EVENT CALENDAR:
M-1 Challenge 84: October 27, 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia
M-1 Challenge 85: November 10, 2017 in Moscow, Russia
ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 200 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. 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 legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2017 has been another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.
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