Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabio Maldonado Set For June 17 Fight Night

‘The Last Emperor’ receives his next opponent, and once again it’s not who you’d expect… Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko made his name as one of the most dominant fighters of his era. The question that always surrounded ‘The Last Emperor’ was about his potential in the world’s

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‘The Last Emperor’ receives his next opponent, and once again it’s not who you’d expect…

Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko made his name as one of the most dominant fighters of his era. The question that always surrounded ‘The Last Emperor’ was about his potential in the world’s largest MMA promotion, the UFC. After Pride was consumed by Zuffa LLC, Emelianenko did the rounds for Affliction and Strikeforce, among others, fighting some well known names along the way. The problem is he started losing towards the end of his first fighting stint.

Facing Dan Henderson, Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, Emelianenko was finished in brutal fashion by all three. ‘Bigfoot’ and ‘Hendo’ stopped the formerly unstoppable Russian with strikes, and ‘Vai Cavalo’ submitted Fedor in front of his heart broken fans.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva

Then came a three fight stretch of Fedor defeating seriously unworthy competition before eventually retiring. Satoshi Iishi, Jeff Monson and the withered shell of Pedro Rizzo were all dominated by Fedor, as fans began to question his motives. Then came the inevitable retirement, and the mixed martial arts community waved farewell to one of their most beloved legends. It was not the most impressive stage of his career by any means, but during his 10 year reign of terror, Fedor had put in many hard miles to win our affections.

Then came his return in 2015, once again fighting under the former Pride owner Sakakibara, only this time the competition was laughable. An unknown man in the form of Jaideep Singh was the great Fedor’s comeback opponent last NYE, and once again Fedor’s motives came in to question.

fedor ufc zuffa mma comeback retirement next fight

Well the news of Fedor’s next opponent may surprise you, as it’s former UFC fighter and Brazilian fan favorite Fabio Maldonado. Check out the report from Sportv.Globo:

“The next appointment of Fedor Emelianenko is marked and will be the organization Fight Nights, in partnership with the Rizin FF . The Russian event will be held on June 17 in St. Petersburg , and surprised at the choice of the Last Emperor opponent. The Brazilian Fábio Maldonado , former UFC will be the rival of the Russian former Pride champion in the card’s main event , as it was found the Combate.com with sources close to the organization. The bout will be the heavyweight (up to 120kg )”

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Frank Mir Gives His Opinion On Fedor In The UFC

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will tie Tito Ortiz’s record for most fights for the promotion in Brisbane, Australia tonight (Saturday March 19, 2016). He takes on fellow legend of the sport Mark Hunt in the UFC Fight Night 85 main event, in a bout that will prove telling as to where either man’s

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will tie Tito Ortiz’s record for most fights for the promotion in Brisbane, Australia tonight (Saturday March 19, 2016). He takes on fellow legend of the sport Mark Hunt in the UFC Fight Night 85 main event, in a bout that will prove telling as to where either man’s career will be headed at this twilight stage. It will be Mir’s 27th fight in 15 years, having fought outside the Zuffa banner only twice during that time (his first two fights).

It was a different world when Mir took up professional fighting in 2001, as the Japanese MMA scene was flourishing, and the UFC hadn’t wuite found it’s feet yet. Pride FC was where all the best talent was, and among those superstars, heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko shined the brightest.

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For years fans pondered and salivated the prospect of Emelianenko testing his mettle against the UFC elite, but it never came to be. ‘The Last Emperor’ tested the American waters with a brief stint in Scott Coker’s Strikeforce, but went 1-3 after getting finished by Antonio Silva, Dan Henderson and current UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum. A few meaningless fights overseas preceded Emelianenko’s eventual retirement, albeit a temporary sit, as he returned on New Year’s eve last year to defeat the poorest calibre tomato can possible in Jaideep Singh.

Talking with MMAJunkie.com, Mir says that Fedor’s losses, especially to ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, showed how he would’ve got on in the UFC:

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