Back in circa 2009 when Brock Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion and also their biggest draw, a rumored superfight with legendary former Pride FC boss Fedor Emelianenko was hands-down the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) fight that could have been made.
The proposed showdown was even rumored to fill up Texas’ Cowboys Stadium, but it unfortunately never came to fruition. It wasn’t for lack of trying on the UFC’s part, however, as president Dana White reportedly met with Emelianenko and his M-1 Global management team at an undisclosed location to offer them multiple millions in order to battle ‘The Beast.’
But ‘The Last Emperor’ and his team saw White’s hard-charging style as disrespectful, and they found little need for his money. Emelianenko found his way to the Strikeforce cage, where much of his luster was tarnished when he suffered three straight losses to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, and Dan Henderson, while Lesnar suffered a similarly unfortunate fate when diverticulitis sapped much of his prior power as he dropped the belt to Cain Velasquez before losing his last-ever UFC bout to title contender Alistair Overeem in late 2011.
Both illustrious heavyweights sort of faded off into the MMA sunset, so to say; with Emelianenko retiring and Lesnar heading for the lucrative pastures of his previous employers, the WWE, where he once again became champion as he had before ever battling it out in the Octagon.
So MMA’s ‘biggest’ fight that never was was seemingly buried in the growing mountain of rumored fights that never were; that is, until Emelianenko came out of retirement to continue crushing cans for Nobuyuki Sakakibara’s Rizin Fighting Federation and Lesnar was revealed to be returning for a supposed one-off against Mark Hunt at July’s blockbuster UFC 200 event from Las Vegas.
While a bout between the two past-prime fighters is still a far-off possibility and obviously wouldn’t hold the weight that it would have seven years ago, it is at least a possibility for ‘The Last Emperor,’ who, in class Fedor fashion, lent Russian site Sovsport.ru some short, cryptic words that perhaps he and Lesnar’s paths will indeed cross in the future:
“Brock is an interesting opponent. Maybe our paths will cross again.”
Short and sweet from the often robotic yet enigmatic Emelianenko, who has always done his talking in the ring or cage rather than with his mouth in the media. He’s long been rumored to be making his way to the Octagon, and those talks have understandably been ramped up after his recent return to fighting. But it’s only talk, and the possibility of a ‘Last Emperor’ showing in the UFC is still distant at best.
Regardless, the bout is still possible, which is a lot more than fans of the nostalgic Pride FC and UFC ‘Bring The Pain’ eras were able to say at this time last year. True, both warriors may be significantly past their fighting primes, but they’re also still undoubtedly two of the sport’s biggest names nonetheless.
In actuality, Emelianenko making his way to the UFC could be all talk as it has been for years. If it’s not and the UFC can somehow get both of these literal giants to sign on the dotted line, well, that’d be an opportunity too good to pass up.
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