Junior Dos Santos could have a huge fight awaiting him following his Eagle Fighting Championship debut this weekend (Fri., May 20).
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion will headline Eagle FC 47 against fellow former UFC alum, Yorgan de Castro. Earlier today (Weds., May 18, 2022), some extra incentive to pick up the victory was added to the bout by the promotion’s president, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“If Dos Santos wins, I really want to make Dos Santos vs. Fedor [Emelianenko,” Nurmagomedov said at the Eagle FC 47 pre-fight press conference. “He has to focus on Yorgan next because Friday he has a tough opponent.
“He has to stay focused but I want to talk to my friend [Bellator President] Scott Coker because Fedor is under Bellator contract,” he added. “I don’t know what they’re going to do next with him but definitely we can talk and we can create some good stories.”
As Nurmagomedov mentioned, Emelianenko is currently under Bellator contract and looking to wrap up his career with one or two more fights. Fighting twice since 2019, “The Last Emperor” currently rides a two-fight winning streak consisting of knockouts against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Timothy Johnson.
“Why not?” Nurmagomedov said. “Because these two guys were the face of MMA. Fedor is the greatest fighter of all time, in my opinion, and Dos Santos was champion for a couple of years in UFC. These two guys, they deserve [it] and the fans deserve [it] and for me, it’s a very interesting matchup, too.”
At their peaks, Dos Santos and Emelianenko were two of the very best Heavyweights on the planet. For “Cigano,” he admits the fight is certainly a dream of his as he watched the legend competing during his own career emergence.
When seeking out Emeliankenko’s opponent for Bellator’s Russia debut, Dos Santos’ name was among the mix of possibilities. Always willing to play ball with other promotions — perhaps unless you’re the Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) — Coker chimed in on the idea after Nurmagomedov’s expressed interest.
“Thanks for the call @TeamKhabib, looking forward to sitting down next week, dinner’s on you. #kingofcollaboration [crown and handshake emoji]” Coker tweeted.
For the rest of the Eagle FC 47 fight card and FLX lineup click here.