M-1 is currently looking at an April 11th target date for their debut show which would be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. The locations being discussed are the All State Arena in Chicago, IL, and the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ.

Currently Semmy Schilt is expected to get the fight against Fedor, although Pedro Rizzo, Ben Rothwell and Jeff Monson are also being considered.

Fedor and Schilt had fought before in PRIDE on June 23, 2002. The fight saw Fedor dominate the fight and win by decision. Schilt is 25-14 and is 6-11 and 290 pounds.

Fedor's contract with M-1 calls for him to receive somewhere in the range of $1.5 million to $2 million per fight. How they can pay him that while pairing him with a relative unknown in the U.S. like Schilt is interesting.