2011 M-1 Challenge season
The 2011 M-1 Challenge season was the fourth season of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting presented by the M-1 Global promotion. The season began on March 5. Events. M-1 Challenge XXIII: Grishin vs. Guram. The first M-1 Challenge event of 2011 took place on March 5, 2011 at the Crocus City in Moscow, Russia. M-1 Challenge XXIV: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa. The second M-1 Challenge event took place on March 25, 2011 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. This event marked the first M-1 show in the United States since 2009 and aired live  on the Showtime cable network. The event drew an estimated 189,000 viewers on Showtime. Due to problems with his visa Arthur Guseinov was unable to compete. Josh Bakkalao got injured during practice and was unable to face Alexander Sarnavskiy. He was replaced by Beau Baker. M-1 Challenge XXV: Zavurov vs. Enomoto. 28 April 2011 Ice Palace Saint Petersburg in St.Petersburg, Russia. Today it was announced that Dmitry Samoilov and Mike Guerin were injured during the training process and, unfortunately, will not be able to take part in the tournament M-1 Challenge XXV. Zavurov vs Magomedov. Rashid Magomedov was seriously  injured and was out of title bout with Shamil Zavurov. M-1 Global has made every effort to in such a short period of time to find a worthy replacement, and literally a few minutes ago to sign the exclusive contract with M-1 Global has put Swiss welterweight Yasubi Enomoto, who last year was a finalist at the Grand Prix at Sengoku in his weight class. M-1 European Battle. June 4, 2011 ACCO International Center Kiev, Ukraine M-1 Challenge XXVI: Bennett vs. Garner II. The second M-1 Challenge event to air on Showtime took place on July 8, 2011 in Costa  Mesa, California. Guram Gugenishvili was originally announced for the main event, but suffered a hand injury and was replaced by Garner. М-1 Challenge XXVII: Magalhaes vs. Zayats. The third M-1 Challenge show on Showtime took place on October 14, 2011 at the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Heavyweight champion Guram Gugenishvili was originally set to defend his title in a rematch against Kenny Garner, but pulled out of the bout due to an elbow injury. M-1 Challenge XXVIII: Emelianenko vs. Malikov. 12 November, Star Centre, Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast Shamil Zavurov was expected to defend his title against Rashid  Magomedov on this card, but had to withdraw due to knee injury. Preliminary card. M-1 Selection: GP 84 kg M-1 Challenge XXIX: Samoilov vs. Miranda. 19 November, Ufa Arena, Ufa, Bashkortostan Vyacheslav Vasilevsky again was traumatized in a hand and according to its command, doctors have forbidden it to act till January, 2012. Preliminary card. M-1 Selection: GP +93 kg M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson. M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson was a mixed martial arts event held by M-1 Global. The event took place on November 20, 2011 at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. In the main fight Fedor  Emelianenko defeated Jeff Monson via unanimous decision. At the end of the heavyweight bout, Vladimir Putin entered the ring to congratulate the winner, Fedor Emelianenko, and gave a speech. The crowd booed during the speech; although some Russian media reports claimed that they had been booing the American loser, Jeff Monson, "BBC News" reported that several crowd members had stressed that they were booing Putin, and regarded Monson as an honorable loser. M-1 Challenge XXX: Shamil Zavurov vs. Yasubey Enomoto II. This event took place on December 9, 2011 at The Hangar at the O.C. Fair and Events Center in  Costa Mesa, California. It aired live on the Showtime cable network. Alexander Sarnavskiy was scheduled to face Francisco Drinaldo, but the bout was cancelled when Drinaldo suffered an injury. Sarnavskiy instead faced Sergio Cortez.