Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara denied rumors that the promotion was working on a showdown between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar.
As fans patiently await the announcement of Fedor Emelianenko’s next fight, rumors continue to spread like wildfire about the Russian heavyweight’s potential opponent. In fact, some Russian reports had Fedor in negotiations to meet former UFC champion Brock Lesnar.
While the reports were never rooted in reality, Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara denied the rumors to Tass.ru journalists.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard about such conversations,” Sakakibara said. “Rumors about the fight between Fedor and Lesnar did not come from our negotiations. We do not conduct such negotiations. However, if such a fight took place, I would have personally looked at it with great interest.”
The bout would likely have never come to fruition given Lesnar’s exclusive contract with the WWE. According to Rizin, the promotion is currently in the process of negotiating a fight for Emelianenko. The Russian is expected to compete at a Rizin event in June or August 2016.