Highly regarded mixed martial arts veteran Andrei Semenov has graced fans around the world with dominating performances during a career that has spanned over 13 years. As a cornerstone of the famed Red Devil Sports Club, home to countless, brilliant fighters including Fedor Emelianenko, Semenov will have a capacity crowd in his corner come fight night as this home-town fan-favourite engages Luigi ‘The Italian Tank’ Fioravanti. Although winning three in a row and successful in four out his last five trips to the canvas, Semenov’s most recent outing dates back to November 2008; fans will be watching the LIVE stream intently on Thursday, April 28 at 11am EST / 8am PST on the official M-1 Global website, www.M-1Global.com and M-1 Global facebook fan page to see if this iconic figure shakes off the ring-rust.
Andrei Semenov is veteran star of Europe’s leading mixed martial arts promotion and made his first appearance with M-1 back in 1998 during the very dawn of MMA in Russia. Immediately locking down seven victories doused in slick submissions before receiving his first loss, Semenov quickly gained the recognition and support of the Russian public; venturing worldwide to participate in tournaments abroad, Semenov continued to perform well, defeating renowned fighters throughout Holland and Brazil.
With an overall MMA record of 29 wins, 9 losses and 2 draws, this captivating middleweight has taken his freestyle wrestling and Sambo base into nearly every major tournament and organization in the world: 2H2H in Holland, Pride Bushido in Japan, World Valetudo Championship in Brazil and even stateside with the UFC where he went 1-1 inside the octagon. Notable performances also include his battles in M-1’s “Russia vs. the World” tournaments and the 8-man M-1 MFC Middleweight Grand Prix.
From the very start of his career, Semenov has proven to be a dynamic, entertaining fighter with an explosive fighting style favouring to finish and avoiding the judges’ scorecards; 15 of his wins come by way of submission and nine by way of KO/TKO which make him a perfect example to define M-1 Global’s reputation for matching up fighter’s who leave it all on the mat.
A talented ‘name’ fighter, Semenov is famed for his text-book precision throws, strong submission defense, superior stamina and being extremely resilient and hard to finish. Cleary a versatile, well rounded fighter and Sambo practitioner, Semenov has also made forays into acting, making him a recognizable figure within St. Petersburg’s celebrity A-list; but the acting skills best be left in the warm-up room prior to making his way down the fighter walk as Fioravanti will be bent on bringing a relentless American attack straight into his path.
Free LIVE broadcast coverage of the entire M-1 Challenge XXV event from St. Petersburg, Russia will be available to viewers worldwide on the official M-1 Global website (www.M-1Global.com) and select affiliate partner sites starting at 11:00am EST / 8:00am PST on Thursday April 28th.
