Bellator MMA lead man Scott Coker recently stated that longtime heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko would indeed return to fight for the promotion after being away from the fight game for 16 months. And it will likely happen before the end of 2021.
According to Coker’s comments during a recent “Virtual Q&A,” he hopes for “The Last Emperor” to get back into the swing of things this fall after a recent sit-down with the Russian-born combatant. Furthermore, he said that there are already several options for possible opponents laid out, though he didn’t divulge any of the possibilities.
Earlier this month, Coker admitted he’s interested in signing either Junior dos Santos or Alistair Overeem (or both) to contracts to potentially take part in a heavyweight slugfest against the former PRIDE heavyweight champion.
For his part, “Cigano” is very interested in a showdown against one of the best to ever do it. As for Overeem, he still has that itch to scratch with Fedor since it’s a challenge he’s wanted for years.
Emelianenko is attending tonight’s Bellator 257 event in Uncasville, Conn., in support of one of his protégés and current light heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov, who faces Phil Davis in the headlining act.