Fedor Emelianenko returned to the cage for the first time in two years earlier today (Sat., Oct. 23, 2021), facing Timothy Johnson in the main event of Bellator 269 in Moscow, Russia, his first fight in his home country in five years.
And he returned with a vengeance.
Things started off tentative for both men, with neither looking to make a mistake early. They traded strikes in the center of the cage but nothing clean landed for neither man until Fedor rocked Johnson with a stiff right hand. He immediately followed it up a with a right hook and then a left that dropped Johnson.
Fedor could have easily pounced on his fallen foe to leave no doubt, but Johnson was done for and Emelianeko simply stood over him realizing he had scored professional win number 40. It’s truly an amazing performance from the longtime veteran after such a lengthy layoff over the No. 2 ranked fight in the Heavyweight division.
Emelianenko has just one fight remaining in his career as he has already determined that he will retire in 2022 after one more bout. Now we have to sit back and see who the promotion will match Fedor up with in his swan song.
For complete Bellator 269 play-by-play updates and results click here.