M-1 Global hosted the 65th edition of their Challenge series on Saturday night in St. Petersburg with a headlining bout between middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev and Maiquel Falcao. The bout was billed as the second semi-final in the middleweight Grand Prix tournament and set up a final against Alexander Shlemenko in June.
Emeev, the renowned Dagestani champion, secured his place in the final with a first round submission win against the UFC, Bellator and KSW veteran. He will now have the opportunity to cement his claim as the top middleweight in Russia with a win against Shlemenko at M-1 Challenge 67.