One of MMA’s all-time greats will make his return in October, when Fedor Emelianenko will compete at an unnamed Bellator event.
Ariel Helwani has reported that ‘The Last Emperor’s return will be made official by the promotion on Friday. An opponent and venue for the event have yet to be named. It will be Emelianenko’s first time competing since he claimed a victory over Rampage Jackson at Bellator 237 in December 2019.
Emelianenko will be 45 by the time he steps into the cage again. At this point in his career, he is no longer considered a true title contender, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a number of interesting fights that await him in the cage. Most notably, recently released former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has been rumored to be joining the Bellator ranks, and a fight between the two superstars would be one of the biggest the organization could put together. There were even reports earlier this year that the two were set to meet at an event in Russia.
Dos Santos fell on hard times to end his run in the UFC. He has lost his last 4 fights, dropping all of them by way of TKO. Still, his name holds value and he was in the UFC title picture as recently as June 2019. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a change of scenery and a little luck could find him with a belt around his waist once more.
Whoever Emelianenko ends up fighting, it is sure to draw the attention of the entire MMA community. The former Pride heavyweight champion has still proven to be a draw, and has amassed a respectable 5-2 record since coming out of retirement in December 2015. His return means he obviously believes he still has something left in the tank, so let’s hope that his return will see him look in recent form.
Who do you want to see Fedor Emelianenko fight in October? Let us know!