Fedor Emelianenko is returning to MMA, and his first order of business is to defeat the man who knocked him from his throne five years ago.
The former Pride heavyweight champion’s decade-long undefeated run was a phenomenon unlike anything ever seen in MMA history. I can remember gathering around the television with family and friends to watch Emelianenko make the long trek to the Pride ring.
There was always a mystical aura surrounding him. In the ring, he was the Russian nightmare. He was judge, jury and executioner.
But that all ended at a Strikeforce event on June 26, 2010.
Emelianenko stepped into the cage with Fabricio Werdum, a heavyweight contender at the time. The Brazilian submission specialist didn’t possess the well-rounded skills back then that he has now.
Coming into the fight, it was obvious that Emelianenko’s best chance for victory was to keep the fight standing. But years of competing against some of the best grapplers in the world can sometimes create recklessness. After dropping Werdum with a flurry of strikes, Emelianenko pounced on his opponent without any regard for submissions, desperately looking to end the fight.
And then the unthinkable happened. Werdum isolated an arm and transitioned into a triangle armbar, which initiated the tap in the first round. Emelianenko went on to lose his next two fights in Strikeforce before finishing out his career with three wins in M-1.
But the retirement wouldn’t last.
Union MMA (h/t Bloody Elbow) reported two weeks ago that Emelianenko would be returning to MMA. Since the announcement of Emelianenko’s return, speculation has been running rampant as to which promotion will end up signing him to a deal.
M-1 and Bellator are naturally believed to be the front-runners to land his services. Bellator is being run by Scott Coker, who did business with Emelianenko during his time in Strikeforce, and M-1’s head honcho is Vadim Finkelchtein, Emelianenko’s former manager.
However, an early sense of favoritism may no longer be the case.
During a Q&A at a youth forum (h/t Bloody Elbow), Emelianenko had an interesting answer when asked whom he would like to fight in his first fight back in three years. According to “The Last Emperor,” he wants a second crack at Werdum, who is currently the UFC heavyweight champion.
Finkelchtein recently told Submission Radio that he believes the UFC has a “big chance” to sign Emelianenko, depending on the contract it offers him.
In a recent interview with Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, Werdum claimed he would sign on to fight Emelianenko in a rematch in the UFC.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com