Fedor Emelianenko and Timothy Johnson came face-to-face for the first time earlier today (Thurs., (Oct. 21, 2021) ahead of their upcoming Heavyweight bout, which is set to headline Bellator 269 this Saturday (Oct. 23) in Moscow, Russia.
The fight will be Emelianenko’s first in two years, and it could also be the last time we see “The Last Emperor” compete in MMA. While he did say he has two more fights remaining in his plan (Johnson included), he did reveal during a recent media call that depending on how everything shakes out after the weekend, he could wrap up his career sooner.
Johnson, meanwhile, will attempt to get back in the win column after he failed to win the interim 265-pound title against one of Fedor’s proteges, Valentin Moldavsky, earlier this year at Bellator 261. Prior to the loss, Johnson was on a three-fight win streak. A win over “The Last Emperor” could be what he needs to get back into the title conversation.
In further action, Vitaly Minakov will face Said Sowma in the co-main event while Usman Nurmagomedov takes on Patrik Pietila in further main card action.
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator 269 Saturday on Showtime. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
See you then!