Bellator MMA had big plans for Fedor Emelianenko’s farewell fight
in his home country, but the ongoing conflict betwen Russia and
Ukraine have forced the promotion to shift gears.
Bellator president Scott Coker addressed the Emelianenko situation
when speaking to reporters following
Bellator 276 on Saturday night. Coker added that he’ll be able
to gain more clarity when he meets with “The Last Emperor” next
month.
“It’s definitely not going to happen in Moscow this year,” Coker
said. “We’re not gonna do Fedor’s retirement fight there for
obvious reasons. We’ll be looking for an alternative site at some
point, but we’re going to sit down with Fedor when he comes to
[Bellator 277] in San Jose and see what he’s thinking.”
Emelianenko had an impressive performance at VTB Arena in Moscow on
Oct. 23, when he knocked out Timothy Johnson 1:40 into the opening
round of their main event clash at Bellator 269. Coker revealed
that the promotion initially had a spectacular sendoff in mind for
the former Pride Fighting Championship’s star in his homeland. Now,
Emelianenko will still get a retirement fight, but the location and
venue will be decidedly different.
“We had an amazing show planned in Moscow,” Coker said. “I don’t
even mind telling you this but we originally had approval to do the
fight in Red Square, and it was going to be such a great sendoff
for the GOAT in my opinion.
“Now, we have to pivot and create something else that’s great, find
another venue, and find another amazing site because he deserves to
have a great sendoff — and we’ll do that — we just don’t know where
yet.”