M-1 Challenge Middleweight Champion Ramazan Emeev Named M-1 Global’s 2015 Fighter of the Year – Breaking News

M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev has been named M-1 Global’s 2015 Fighter of the Year.

Russian welterweight Alexey Kunchenko was selected as “Prospect of the Year,” while M-1 Challenge 63 was the M-1 Global “Event of the Year.”

Emeev (13-3-0, M1: 7-1-0), fighting out of Russia, was a runaway winner as “Fighter of the Year,” garnering 84.5-percent of the votes to easily outdistance runner-up Viktor Nemkov (23-5-0, M-1: 14-4-0), the reigning M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion.

In 2015, Emeev won both of his M-1 fights with his title-winning submission (choke) of defending champion Vyacheslav Vasilevsky in the opening round of their rematch last April at M-1 Challenge 56, and first title defense this past December 4th at M-1 Challenge 63 when American challenger Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti was unable to answer the bell for the third round.

Kunchenko (12-0-0, M-1: 4-0-0), the undefeated Russian, defeated “Prospect of the Year” runner-up Adam “Beard” Yandiev and third-place finisher Raul Tutarauli (6-3-0, M-1: 3-0-0). Kunchenko won all five of his fights in 2015, highlighted by his opening-round stoppages of Dez Parker at M-1 Challenge 57 and Alexandre Ramos at M-1 Challenge 62.

M-1 Challenge 63 was headlined by the highly entertaining rematch between defending M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz, of Germany, and Nemkov, of Russia, in the latter’s victory by five-round decision. Emeev’s triumph over Fioravanti was the M-1 Challenge 63 co-feature. M-1 Challenge 56, headlined by Emeev’s title-winning performance against Vasilevsky, was “Event of the Year” runner-up.