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M-1 CHALLENGE 26 PRELIMINARY CARD PREVIEW

It is very rare in the MMA universe when the biggest MMA show of the weekend doesn’t come from the UFC, Strikeforce or Bellator. Instead, the biggest card of the weekend comes from the M-1 promotion, which is holding a big event that will air on Showtime. The preliminary card of this event will only feature three fights, but one of them features a Bellator veteran.

Kicking off the evening will be a lightweight division encounter as Mike Derobers (1-0-0) takes on Max “Payne” Martyniouk (0-1-0). Mike Derobers made his professional MMA debut about three months ago with a victory over Thomas Nole by TKO. Max Martyniouk made his professional MMA debut in the Strikeforce promotion last year, losing to Justin Lawrence. Being new and coming off a long layoff is going to hurt Max Martyniouks, which is why Mike Derobers will take the fight.

More lightweight action is next on the card as Richard Schiller (7-2-1) goes to war with Mark Vorgeas (3-0-0). Richard Schiller has won two of his last three fights and he just fought a little over a month ago in the Invincible MMA promotion. Mark Vorgeas has not fought in nearly a year, but all three of his MMA victories have come within the opening round. A lot of this fight should be spent on the ground, where I see Richard Schiller picking up the submission victory.

Headlining this portion of the card is a featherweight division affair as Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan (16-3-1) faces Randy Spence (11-10-0). Georgi Karakhanyan fought four times in the Bellator Fighting Championships promotion and he defeated WEC veteran Anthony Leone there. Randy Spence enters this fight winning only one of his last five MMA fights, plus he has not competed in nearly a year. This fight is seemingly a set up for a Georgi Karakhanyan victory, which is exactly what will happen here.

You can contact David Tees at bigteesps3@yahoo.com

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