Fedor Emelianenko News

Josh Evanoff - January 28, 2022

Ryan Bader is currently set to fight Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 273. Despite his focus being on the interim champion, there’s still a massive looming figure in the form of Fedor Emelianenko. ‘Darth’ defeated the Russian in the finals of the 2018 Bellator heavyweight Grand-Prix. With the win, Bader became one of the few to defeat the legend, and also claimed the promotion’s heavyweight title.

Chris Taylor - November 13, 2021

Bellator is planning to have a ‘massive’ retirement fight for MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in his home country of Russia. Emelianenko (40-6 MMA) recently returned to action at last month’s Bellator 269 event, where he scored a sensational knockout victory over Tim Johnson (see that here). The win marked Fedor’s second first round finish in a row, as he had previously stopped Quinton ‘Rampage‘ Jackson.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

Dana White unloads on Fedor Emelianenko for suggesting that he is all about money, saying that, “first of all, I don’t even know Fedor.” Emelianenko recently did an interview where he suggested that White “has no respect towards fighters” and that “money means everything to him.” The comments came out of the left field as the UFC and Emelianenko haven’t had any contract discussions in years, so it was a bit surprising to hear Emelianenko come out and have these comments about the UFC president. And White, as you may have guessed, was not happy with the comments.

Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has responded after receiving a ton of backlash for his comments about Fedor Emelianenko. Prior to ‘The Last Emperor’ earning a stunning knockout over Tim Johnson at last weekend’s Bellator 268 event, Cormier had suggested that Fedor would have been “average at best” in the UFC.

Adam D Martin - October 24, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker admits that he was blown away by Fedor Emelianenko’s first-round KO win over Tim Johnson at Bellator 269. Emelianenko took on Johnson in the main event of Saturday’s Bellator 269 event in Russia, and he won the fight in the first round by brutal knockout. Considering Emelianenko is now 45 years old, it was incredible to see how fast his hands still are at this point in his career. In fact, Emelianenko’s boss Coker was so blown away by his performance that he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face following the big knockout.

Adam D Martin - October 24, 2021

Watch heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko land his incredible knockout on Tim Johnson in slow motion at Saturday’s Bellator 269 event. The 45-year-old Emelianenko entered the fight with Johnson as the underdog but he got the job done in the first round with a brutal knockout. Don’t look now, but Emelianenko is now riding a two-fight win streak after knocking out Quinton Jackson in his last fight two years ago. Overall, Emelianenko has won four of his last five fights, with all four of those wins coming by way of knockout. However, he has said that he is considering retiring from the sport, so it’s hard to say for sure whether or not this Johnson fight was his last. Knowing Emelianenko, he will likely fight again. However, we should still enjoy his beautiful knockout win over Johnson, especially since it could be the last he ever lands.

Chris Taylor - October 23, 2021

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returned to the cage in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 269 event for a heavyweight bout with Tim Johnson. Emelianenko (40-6 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since December of 2019, where he had earned a first round knockout victory over Quinton ‘Rampage‘ Jackson. ‘The Last Emperor’ had entered tonight’s matchup having gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

Chris Taylor - October 23, 2021

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returns to the cage in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 269 event for a heavyweight bout with Tim Johnson. Emelianenko (39-6 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since December of 2019, where he earned a first round knockout victory over Quinton ‘Rampage‘ Jackson. ‘The Last Emperor’ enters tonight’s matchup having gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

Adam D Martin - October 22, 2021

UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier believes that heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko would have been “average at best” in the UFC. At one point in time just over a decade ago, there was a legitimate chance that Emelianenko would sign with the UFC. However, it didn’t end up happening, and it never did in the years since then. As far as Cormier goes, that’s all good because having Emelianenko fight in the UFC wouldn’t have changed anything. Speaking on the Debate DC show, the former UFC champ says Emelianenko would have struggled in the UFC.

Adam D Martin - October 20, 2021

MMA legend and current Bellator heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko blasted UFC president Dana White, saying “he has no respect towards fighters.” Emelianenko is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, having fought for many of the top fight promotions in the sport’s history. The Russian currently stars for Bellator MMA, where this weekend he fights UFC veteran Tim Johnson in a heavyweight bout that headlines Bellator 269. There is a chance that this could be the final fight of Emelianenko’s incredible MMA career, and if it’s the case, then he would do so without having fought for the UFC. It’s arguably the biggest “what if” story in mixed martial arts history as Emelianenko was never able to prove his heavyweight greatness at the UFC level.

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Fedor Emelianenko is set for his return fight in Russia as he will headline Bellator 269 against Tim Johnson. When Bellator announced Emelianenko would be fighting at home for the final time, many thought he would face a legend. The likes of Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett all expressed interest but in the end, Emelianenko picked Johnson. According to the Russian, he says it was an obvious choice to face Johnson.

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Tim Johnson says it is still surreal to think he is fighting Fedor Emelianenko in Russia, in what could be the Russian’s final fight. When Bellator announced Emelianenko would be fighting back home in Russia, many thought he would be fighting a fellow legend. Yet, that wasn’t the case as instead, he will be fighting Johnson at Bellator 269, who has a theory as to why Emelianenko picked him.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

Heavyweight great Alistair Overeem says that fellow legend Fedor Emelianenko declined to fight him in Bellator not to mention in Strikeforce. Overeem became a free agent following a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov earlier this year in the UFC. “The Demolition Man” was open to signing with different promotions and had talks with Bellator about potentially fighting Emelianenko, but the fight didn’t end up getting booked, and Emelianenko instead chose Tim Johnson to fight. For his part, Overeem decided that he will take a break from MMA for now and re-joined GLORY.

Drake Riggs - August 12, 2021

Tim Johnson is the last person the MMA community expected as the next opponent of Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator’s debut in Russia. On Oct. 23 in Moscow, Emelianenko and Johnson will lock horns. The announcement revealed a few weeks back gave fans and the fighters alike time to fantasize about possible matchups with Josh Barnett, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and even Anderson Silva. So what happened?

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Heavyweight Junior dos Santos is disappointed by the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson fight booking, saying that “I don’t understand why.” Emelianenko is set to return to the Bellator cage this October in Moscow, Russia, and when the news first broke that “The Last Emperor” was going to fight again, immediately big names like dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, and even Jake Hager all threw their names in the hat to get the chance to face off with the legend. However, Bellator decided to choose Johnson instead, and that disappointed dos Santos.

Drake Riggs - July 29, 2021

Josh Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko is one of MMA’s biggest fights that got away — but what if it didn’t have to? The pair of heavyweight legends were originally set to clash in 2009 under the short-lived Affliction banner. Fast-forward 12 years and they’re both in the same promotion once again as Emelianenko has his next bout set for October at Bellator’s first show in Russia.

Adam D Martin - July 5, 2021

Former WWE superstar Jake Hager wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator, saying that “I really honestly believe that this is my fight.” The legend Emelianenko recently revealed that he is set to return to the Bellator cage this October in Moscow, Russia. Bellator did not announce his opponent yet, with company president Scott Coker admitting that there has been significant interest from other fighters to take on “The Last Emperor,” specifically mentioning Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett as potential fights. But it appears there is another challenger in the arena.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum called for the Fedor Emelianenko rematch, suggesting that “Fedor was never the GOAT.” It was just over 11 years ago in Strikeforce that Werdum and Emelianenko met inside the cage and the Brazilian pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time when he tapped the Russian out with a triangle-armbar. Fans have always wanted to see a rematch between these two rivals, but it has never happened. With Emelianenko set to return to the Bellator cage later this year in Russia, Bellator president Scott Coker has admitted that a number of big names have been in touch with his company to fight Emelianenko, naming fighters such as Josh Barnett, Junior dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem among the possibilities.