Coker: ‘Fedor’s Coming Back, But Not To Bellator’

Bellator 141 goes down tonight on Spike TV. While doing some promotion for the event, president Scott Coker did an interview and was asked about Fedor Emelianenko.

Coker had previously said that he had not talked to Fedor about his return and about coming to Bellator. When asked if that was really the case, he told MMAJunkie that he had in fact talked to Fedor, but not about coming to Bellator.

Here’s what he said:

“We’ve had conversations, but not about fighting. I just felt Fedor is a great legend. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of MMA. We had a great time doing the fights together with Fedor (in Strikeforce) … I felt like we’ve done it already with Fedor.”

“We’ve got a great roster and a great thing going. When he comes back into the market, I feel like he’s going to come back for three or four years. He’s not going to come back for one fight. And he is coming back – for sure. … But I’m not sure where he’s going – if he’s close to signing with the UFC, I hear rumors of this and that. I haven’t asked him.

“Let’s let him come back and see how it works out for him, and then maybe we’ll have him fight a couple years down the line, or next year, or whatever. The door is open, but I felt like at this point, Bellator is kind of on a little bit of a roll here. Would he add a lot of value? Yes. But we’re just going to sit back and see what happens.”

Of course a lot of people expected Fedor to end up with Bellator when he announced his return to the sport, mostly because of his past relationship with Coker, back in Strikeforce.

With Bellator out, does this mean the UFC is truly the only major option for Fedor?
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