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Aleksander Emelianenko vs Sang Soo Lee in St. Petersburg, Russia on November, 21, 2008, at M-1 Challenge 9. Prior to this fight, Lee tapped Emelianenko's Red Devil teammate, Roman Zentsov, in a triangle choke in Seoul, South Korea on August 29, 2008. The fight was Emelianenkos first since being denied a license to fight Paul Buentello by the California State Athletic Commission in July at Affliction: Banned. Emelianenko publicly denied rumors that he was denied a license because of a positive test for Hepatitis B. M-1 Challenge is a series of events planned to be held in different places, where 10 MMA clubs compete against each other. The Challenge introduced by Vadim Finkelstein presents an international team competition among young prospective fighters who aspire to gain more experience, and prove themselves at the international level. The most talented ones earn an opportunity to be chosen to compete in major M-1 events. The teams are split into the two groups: Group A: Russia (Red Devil), France, Korea, Finland, USA. Group B: the Netherlands, Spain, Russia (Legion), Japan, World Star Team. The rules for M-1 Challenge: A bout consists of 2 rounds 5 minutes each and 90 seconds rest between the rounds. Knees are allowed stand-up. It's forbidden to strike a downed opponent while standing. Elbow strikes are only allowed to the body and legs. During the bout a fighter can get 3 warnings, whereafter he'll be disqualified.

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