Cody McKenzie added to joint M-1 Challenge 54 and ACB 12 show on December 17

On Tuesday afternoon, M-1 Global and Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) announced the addition of UFC veteran Cody McKenzie to their joint show on December 17 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

McKenzie, who went 2-4 during his tenure with the UFC, will meet Russian welterweight Breslan Isaev in one of the feature fights of the evening. Also on the card is a match-up between Daniel Swain and Wushu-Sanda World Champion Aliyar Sarkerov.

The fight card will be headlined by a light-heavyweight title fight between M-1 champion Stephan Puetz and undefeated challenger Valery Myasnikov. A match-up between Maxim Divnich and Russian Djambulat Kurbanov will also take place for the vacant lightweight title.

"Executives from both companies (including Mairbeck Hasiev and Bekhan Hasiev from ACB) are confident that this joint venture will be successful," M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelchtein said, "giving MMA fans in Russia a number of interesting fights as well as a very entertaining show. We plan on having 12 competitive fights, featuring the strongest fighters from Russian clubs like Berkut, Alexander Nevsky, Fightspirit, Sambo-Peter, Martial Arts Club No. 1, and Alexander Nevsky OEMK, in addition to having top fighters from several foreign countries."

The joint M-1 Challenge 54 and ACB 12 event will take place on Dec. 17 at Palais des Sports Ice in St. Petersburg, Russia. The action will be streamed in high definition on www.M1Global.TV.