Aussie combat sports heavyweight Peter “The Chief” Graham is set to make his MMA return next month when he takes on undefeated Russian Vitaly Minakov at Fight Nights Global 50.
The event takes place on June 17 in St Petersburg, Russia and will be headlined by heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Fabio Maldonado. Fight Nights Global (AKA Eurasia Fight Nights) events are broadcast on UFC Fight Pass.
Graham (11-9) is coming off a TKO win over former World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 32 in October. Outside of mixed martial arts, the 40 year-old Sydney based fighter was recently crowned World Boxing Foundation heavyweight champion after defeating Julius Long in February.
Minakov (18-0) recently made headlines for having his Bellator heavyweight title stripped due to “lack of participation”. The 31 year-old’s last appearance for the promotion was way back in 2014 when he outpointed Cheick Kongo. Following the win, the Russian went on to notch up three stoppage victories in Eurasia Fight Nights with his last win coming against WSOF’s Josh Copeland in December.
Graham vs Minakov is slated for the event’s co-headliner slot.
