Khabib Nurmagomedov was ecstatic to watch one of his favorite fighters ever Fedor Emelianenko KO his opponent Tim Johnson at Bellator 269.
The Last Emperor scores the KO in Moscow!
What a moment for Fedor, in Bellator’s historic first Russian event.#Bellator269 pic.twitter.com/gZq4pH5bMa
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 23, 2021
The Last Emperor scores the KO in Moscow!
‘The Last Emperor’ made his return to the octagon and provided absolute fireworks for the Russian crowd. The card was held in Emelianenko’s home country of Russia. In the stands going crazy for Emelianenko’s return to the octagon was ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib has always been a big fan of ‘The Last Emperor’ since he saw him fight in the early 2000’s. In a Facebook post from 5 years ago, Khabib said “First time I saw Fedor fight live was in 2004, at Combat Sambo Dagestan Championship. He wasn’t that famous at that moment, but I knew him, and was watching him fight that whole day. That day he won, took first place and after since he was first for me, no matter lose or win”.
Khabib had also named Emelianenko as one of his six GOAT’s of the sport itself. A list that included Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, GSP, Daniel Cormier, and Demetrious Johnson. The two seem to have a good relationship as well and Khabib has even given Emelianenko some advice in the past.
Emelianenko’s win over Johnson was the legends 40th professional win inside the octagon and his fourth win under the Bellator banner. The most logical matchup for Emelianenko, (since he has already proclaimed this was not his last fight) would be to fight Ryan Bader next. He previously lost to Bader in the Heavyweight World Grand Prix Finals back in 2019 by TKO. That would be a really fun matchup to run back if both fighters would want to.
Did you enjoy seeing Fedor Emelianenko back inside the octagon? Would you be interested in a rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader?