Malik Merad vs. Mikhail Zayats Added to M-1 Challenge XXV

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

By FCF Staff

M-1 Global continues to round out the line-up for the promotion’s upcoming April 28th event in St. Petersburg, Russia, as today the promotion has announced that light-heavyweight Mikhail Zayats (pictured) will fight Malik Merad on the card.

Zayats (13-5) will head into the bout having won three straight; most recently in December at M-1 Challenge 22, he tapped out David Tkeshelashvili with a first round, rear-naked-choke. Zayats last loss came in January, 2010, when he was stopped by Robert Jocz.

Merad (10-6) is coming off a recent loss to David Baudrier, who defeated him by unanimous decision at a Pancrase event earlier this month. In March, Merad stopped Egidijus Valavicius in the first round at a King of Kings event.

M-1 Challenge XXV will feature two title fights, as welterweight champion Shamil Zavurov will look to defend his belt against Rashid Magomedov, and Viktor Zemkov will battle Vinny Magalhaes for the vacant light-heavyweight championship.

The April 28th card will be streamed live on the official M-1 Global site. Here is the line-up to date for the event.

M-1 Challenge XXV Under Card:
TBA  vs. Alexander Kosarev (1-2)              

M-1 Challenge XXV Main Card (Streaming Live):
Malik Merad (10-6) vs. Mikhail Zayats (13-5)               
Juanma Suarez (6-0) vs. Arsen Temirkhanov (8-1)           
TBA vs. Ramzan Algeriev (1-0)               
Murad Magomedov (6-6) vs. Dmitry Samoilov (11-5-1)           
Denis Goltsov (2-1) vs. Alexander Volkov (10-3)            
Christian Eckerlin (6-0) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (10-3)          
Luigi Fioravanti (22-8) vs. Andrei Semenov (29-9-2)           
* Additional bouts to be announced shortly

Welterweight Championship Bout:
Shamil Zavurov, M-1 Challenge Champion (19-1) vs. Rashid Magomedov (8-1)

Light Heavyweight (205 Lbs) Championship Bout:
Viktor Nemkov (10-2) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (7-5)