UFC president Dana White has shut down any talk of Fedor Emelianenko being the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time.
At Bellator 290, Fedor Emelianenko competed in his final pro-MMA bout, dropping a TKO loss to former foe, Ryan Bader. In the aftermath of the fight, Fedor would be joined in the cage by a number of fellow MMA legends, including the likes of Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Chael Sonnen, paying tribute to one of the all-time greats.
This is a tremendous photo. Makes me nostalgic and emotional.
Without these legends — these pioneers — there is no MMA.
Good on Bellator for making it happen, regardless of when it happened.
Beautiful stuff.
(
@BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/VgBackPIKX
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 5, 2023
Ending his career with a record of 40-7, having defeated some generational greats such as Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Frank Mir, and Mark Hunt, many have hailed ‘The Last Emperor’ as the Greatest Heavyweight of all Time.
However, UFC president Dana White does not agree. Speaking in the UFC Vegas 68 post-fight presser, White had the following to say in regard to Fedor’s retirement:
“Listen, he’s what, 46? He shouldn’t be fighting. But he’s a grown-ass man, he can do whatever he wants to do. But he probably should have hung it up a few years ago.”
“I don’t want to sh*t on the guy, he’s retiring tonight and all that stuff. But you guys know the old interviews with me. I never thought Fedor was that— I mean he got knocked out by middleweight Dan Henderson, you know what I mean? It’s like— I think some of the guys in the business, people liked him, so they praised him. He never got to test himself over here, but I was never one of the guys that thought he was one of the greatest of all time.”
When asked if he regretted not signing the former Pride champion, White’s answer was simple:
“No. I don’t like dislike Fedor or anything like that, but nah, it didn’t happen. We gave it a shot. Can’t say we didn’t try. We gave it a shot, and it is what it is.” (H/T CageSidePress).