Will we see Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator in 2016?
Ever since returning from a three-year retirement at Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve show, MMA fans have been wondering when they'll see MMA heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko back in the cage.
Well, if Bellator president Scott Coker has his way, we'll see “The Last Emperor” return stateside sometime in 2016.
“He did recently compete in Japan under the brand Rizin, but we are talking to him,” said Coker in a recent interview. “We have nothing to announce because negotiations are still ongoing, but we’d love to have him on our roster some point in ’16.”
Fans might be under the impression that because Emelianenko appeared in a Bellator ring last year announcing his return, that a deal with the North American MMA company was already a foregone conclusion.
Well, it wasn’t. And depending on how much money the Russian legend is asking for, a move to Bellator isn't a sure thing.
Emelianenko (35-4-1) is arguably the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. He ran roughshod over the now-defunct Japanese organization, Pride FC, remaining undefeated over his first 32 fights (sans a controversial stoppage due to a cut against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in Dec. 2000) on his way to their heavyweight championship.
The Russian would capture the Pride heavyweight title in March 2003, defeating Brazilian MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Emelianenko continued to hold that very same belt until Pride was purchased by the UFC (an organization Emelianenko has never fought for) in 2007. The UFC would eventually cease operations of Pride, and that chapter of Emelianenko’s career was abruptly closed.
Now, in 2016, the glory days are over. And at 39, it remains unclear just how much the aging Sambo wizard has left in the tank.
Luckily for Emelianenko, Bellator is a place littered with older, big-name talent. And at least one of them, Tito Ortiz, is a UFC Hall-of-Famer whose name has been linked with Emelianenko for years.
Which is something Coker is keenly aware of.
“There’s a lot of fighters for Fedor to fight,” he said. “Think about it: we just signed Sergei Kharitonov, [Vitaly] is Minakov our current champion, Tito Ortiz… What about Fedor fighting Kimbo Slice or Dada? We have Cheick Kongo out there.
“We have a deep roster that can fight Fedor -- that would love to fight Fedor. So, at some point if we can get this deal done maybe we will have Fedor fight in Bellator sometime in 2016.”
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!