Tune in Friday at 8 p.m. ET on HDNet as Brazil's Eduardo Pamplona (pictured) takes on Imperial's Erik Oganov. With a victory, Brazil can eliminate the defending champions from this year's competition.

After Group B rivals Russia Imperial and Team Brazil (Naja) both sustained upset losses during the season opener of the “2009 M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction” in Tacoma, Wash., earlier this year, the two are now set to go head-to-head during Friday’s edition of the M-1 Challenge on HDNet at 8 p.m. ET.

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, Imperial, the defending M-1 Challenge Champions, will look to redeem itself against Brazil after losing in the opener against South Korea. Meanwhile, Brazil is looking to bounce back following it’s 3-2 loss to USA West. With USA West out to an early lead, Friday’s challenge between Brazil and Imperial will essentially be an early playoff bout, as the losing team will fall to 0-2 and will be eliminated from post-season contention. Faced with a must-win situation, Brazil made sweeping changes to its roster following its loss to the Americans and replaced all of its fighters with the lone exception of its dynamic welterweight, Eduardo Pamplona.

Pamplona, 10-2, made a successful debut in the M-1 Challenge earlier in the season after recording a third round submission victory over USA West’s Dylan Clay. The victory marked the fifth consecutive victory for the former IFL superfighter. An exciting striker, Pamplona will have his work cut out for him during Friday’s episode when he faces Imperial’s Erik Oganov, a veteran of the now-defunct BodogFight promotion.

Also featured on Friday’s show is Imperial light heavyweight Mikhail Zayats, who is slated to compete on the Affliction and M-1 “Trilogy” undercard Aug. 1 when he moves to middleweight for a rematch against long-time rival Lucio Linhares.

After being on the losing end in the biggest upset in M-1 history following his loss in the opener to South Korea’s Jae Young Kim, Zayats, 8-2, will look to get back to his winning ways when he faces Brazil’s Alexander Machado, a highly touted amateur who will be making his professional debut. Will Machado be over-matched or will lightning strike twice with M-1 Challenge fans bearing witness to another major upset involving Zayats?

Also debuting for Team Brazil will be lightweight sensation Hacran Dias, 10-0-1. Dias has received a great deal of exposure within the hardcore MMA community and will look to increase his profile as he competes on U.S. television for the first-time ever. Standing in Dias’ way of crossover super stardom is Imperial newcomer Amirkhan Mazihov.

In addition to Pamplona vs. Oganov, Zayats vs. Machado, and Dias vs. Mazihov, viewers will also be treated to two other bouts Friday at 8 p.m. ET on HDNet pitting Joaquim “Mamute” Ferreira (Brazil) vs. Maksim Grishin (Russia) and Leandro Silva (Brazil) vs. Dmitry Samoilov (Imperial).