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Headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson make weight ahead of this weekend’s Bellator 237 event in Saitama, Japan.
Headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson make weight ahead of this weekend’s Bellator 237 event in Saitama, Japan.
Scott Coker wants the road taken by Fedor Emelianenko’s retirement tour to end in Russia.
TOKYO – [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] has started his retirement tour and Bellator president Scott Coker wants it to end at home.
Emelianenko’s first stop is Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena in Japan, when he takes on Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237.
And having recently signed Emelianenko to a new three-fight deal with the promotion, Coker has mapped out how he’d like to see Emelianenko’s remaining fights play out.
“The second fight hopefully, if he is ok, doesn’t get hurt then maybe he can fight towards late fall or early fall,” Coker told reports, including MMA Junkie, on Friday. “Location, I don’t know but in my mind, the second fight will be some place in Europe or the Middle East and then the third fight will be in Moscow, maybe sometime next year. That’s the game plan because I would love to do a fight in Moscow with Bellator, with Fedor’s retirement fight.”
The meeting with “Rampage” pits two legends of the sport that had significant moments in their careers under the PRIDE banner, but never crossed paths.
They will clash in a throwback-style fight, and Coker urges fans to come watch Emelianenko (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), who’s competed over half of his career in Japan, in what will highly likely be the last time he makes the walk in that historic arena.
“How I feel about Fedor is, he’s a very special fighter, a very special person in the landscape of MMA, and he’s a legend, and he is to me the greatest heavyweight of all-time. In saying that, I feel like he should be honored and treasured on his way out and he should go out on his own terms and that’s really what this is all really about.”
“I got to give him that respect that deserves and we signed him to a three-fight retirement tour and this is the first stop. This will be the last time he fights in Japan, so if they want to see him live, they have to come down and check him out against a legendary fighter like ‘Rampage’ who got his start here.”
To hear more from Coker, watch the video above, and to hear from Emelianenko himself, watch the video below.
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Check out the results from the official Bellator 237 weigh-ins in Tokyo.
TOKYO – MMA Junkie is on the scene and reporting live from Friday’s official Bellator 236 fighter weigh-ins, which kick off at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT, 9 a.m. local time).
The weigh-ins, which will include just the main card fighters, take place at the Bellator host hotel.
Among those weighing in are headliners [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA), who meet in a heavyweight clash of legends, as well as former lightweight champion [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 16-5 BMMA), who takes on [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in a 160-pound catchweight co-headliner. Welterweight standouts [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) will also step on the scale for their respective fights.
Bellator 237, the promotion’s debut in Japan, takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Bellator 237 weigh-in results include:
Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 237 main card in Japan.
| Emelianenko vs. Jackson |
Chandler vs. Outlaw |
Anzai vs. Page |
Larkin vs. Nakamura |
Joanne vs. Watanabe |
Cruickshank vs. Yamauchi |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 221-130 (63%) |
 Emelianenko (54%) |
 Chandler (83%) |
 Page (88%) |
 Larkin (88%) |
 Watanabe (66%) |
 Yamauchi (57%) |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2019: 138-71 (66%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
 Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2019: 131-73 (64%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 225-126 (64%) |
 Jackson |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 224-127 (64%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 223-128 (64%)  2017 Champion |
Emelianenko |
Jackson |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 222-129 (63%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 220-131 (63%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
 Nakamura |
Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 218-133 (62%) 2014 Champion |
Jackson |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2019: 122-76 (62%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 215-136 (61%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Watanabe |
Yamauchi |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 212-139 (60%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 147-112 (57%) |
Emelianenko |
Chandler |
Page |
Larkin |
Joanne |
Yamauchi |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 185-166 (53%) |
Jackson |
 Outlaw |
 Anzai |
Nakamura |
Watanabe |
 Cruickshank |
For the first time, Bellator this week has touched down in “The Land of the Rising Sun” with a pair of heavyweight legends at the top of the ticket.
Bellator 237, the promotion’s debut in Japan, takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, near Tokyo. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
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In the main event, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) takes on fellow PRIDE veteran [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) in a bout between two fan favorites among the Japanese fans. Emelianenko is a slight favorite at the sports books, but he’s got a heavy lead from our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 9-4 in the picks.
In the co-main event, former lightweight champion [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 16-5 BMMA) takes on short-notice opponent [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who will step in for Benson Henderson. Chandler is a heavy favorite in the 160-pound contract weight bout, and only one of our pickers is going against him.
[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) is the biggest favorite on the card at as much as 10-1 n his 173-pound contract weight fight against [autotag]Shinsho Anzai[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). He’s got a heavy 12-1 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) meets [autotag]Keita Nakamura[/autotag] (35-10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at welterweight. Larkin is a 5-1 favorite and has a heavy 11-2 picks lead.
Our most competitive fight, picks-wise, is at women’s flyweight between [autotag]Ilara Joanne[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] (8-0-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who is just a slight favorite. Watanabe has the slimmest possible edge in the picks at 7-6.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Daron Cruickshank[/autotag] (22-12 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a heavy underdog against [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (24-4 MMA, 10-3 BMMA), who has a massive 12-1 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Emelianenko (54%), Chandler (83 percent), Page (88 percent), Larkin (88 percent), Watanabe (66 percent) and Yamauchi (57 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
The retirement tour might not exactly determine the rest of Fedor Emelianenko’s career.
TOKYO – The [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] retirement tour might not actually finish with his retirement, according to “The Last Emperor” himself.
Emelianenko (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) signed a multi-fight extension with Bellator in June, and Bellator president Scott Coker said this would allow Emelianenko to close out his career with the promotion.
But Emelianenko said he’ll only decide if he’s done once the remaining fights planned for him are over.
“That’s what we discussed, and that’s what we agreed on, but let’s see how I feel,” Emelianenko said through an interpreter. “Right now, the plan is just like Scott laid out. There’s going to be three fights, and it’s kind of a retirement tour, but when the tour is over, he said let’s see how I feel. We’ll go from there.”
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The tour begins with [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag], a fellow PRIDE veteran who was never on Emelianenko’s radar until he moved up to heavyweight. Now that Jackson (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) is at a higher weight class, Emelianenko expects a slower but more powerful version of “Rampage.”
“Early on he was probably lighter, faster and younger,” Emelianenko said. “And now, much like myself, he is a little heavier, a little slower, but he probably hits a lot harder.”
Having competed for more than half of his career in Japan, Emelianenko knows this is likely the last time he’ll get to compete in front of the Japanese fans, as he looks to put on a show this Saturday (Sunday locally).
“I think I’ve already shown the fans everything there is for me to show them,” Emelianenko said. “This will be more like a farewell fight. I would like to entertain them. I want them to be happy watching me fight, and I would like to come back to Japan as a guest.”
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Watch along as Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton Jackson get set to throw down at a venue where they’ve already had many memorable moments.
It’s a fight nearly two decades in the making, as two standouts from the late and lamented PRIDE FC get set to throwdown in PRIDE’s home territory, Japan.
Former PRIDE heavyweight champion [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] will square off in a bout with former UFC light heavyweight titleholder [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] in the main event of Bellator 237 at the venerated Saitama Super Arena.
Bellator 237, the promotion’s debut in Japan, takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) in Saitama, near Tokyo. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
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Bellator’s cameras followed along as Emelianenko (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) and Jackson (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) prepare for battle. So while you count down the hours to the big showdown of former world champions, enjoy “Bellator 237 Countdown: Fedor vs. Rampage.” You can watch it in the video linked above.
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Quinton Jackson has a message for the naysayers who are criticizing his fight with Fedor Emelianenko.
TOKYO – [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] has a message for those criticizing his next fight.
Jackson (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) will close out the decade when he faces [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) in the Bellator 237 main event at Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Saturday night (Sunday locally).
Both have competed under the PRIDE banner in the past, but never crossed paths, and despite being in the latter years of their careers, “Rampage” guarantees that the fans are in for a show.
“This is a special moment in MMA history no matter what the naysayers say,” Jackson told MMA Junkie at media day a promoting the event. “The guys who are never going to do anything in their lives, the never-has-beens who want to say about two old guys getting in there – the true MMA fans are going to win because there’s not going to be a loser. There’s not going to be a loser. No matter who gets their hand raised, there’s not going to be a loser because when two legends get in there, and do what they love, and put on a show, the fans win.”
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Emelianenko, who is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, was one of Jackson’s heroes growing up in the business. Despite having a large amount of respect for the Russian legend, “Rampage” said he knows that once the cage door closes, it’s all business.
“It’s been kind of hard for me to mentally prepare and get ready for this fight because you guys know how I like to knock people out, my team’s like, ‘Oh, you got to knock him out, you got to knock him out,’ and me being a big fan of Fedor, I’m thinking that’s the last thing he needs is to get knocked out right away and stuff like that, but none of that matters because when I get in that cage, ‘Rampage’ don’t have no friends. I don’t even like that mother (expletive). Nobody likes ‘Rampage,’ ‘Rampage’ don’t like nobody, so it don’t matter.”
The former UFC 205-pound champ has competed numerous times at heavyweight now but admits that Emelianenko may actually be the only opponent he’s seen to date that truly embodies that weight class.
“This is a good matchup because Fedor is the first true heavyweight that I’m ever going to face in my opinion,” Jackson said. “I don’t think I’ve ever faced a true heavyweight. I’m been fighting little-bitty guys who are faster than me and can out-wrestle me and all this and out-gameplan me, but Fedor is a true heavyweight, and I think it’s going to be a good test for me. I think he has speed, he has power and he’s not shy, and he’s good on the ground. He’s a very, very dangerous opponent, and I meet this challenge head on. I think that I do some things very well that makes this a good matchup for me against Fedor.”
Bellator 237 airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN. To hear much more from Jackson, check out the video above.
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Fedor Emelianenko spoke to the media ahead of this weekend’s Bellator 237 in Saitama, Japan.
Fedor Emelianenko spoke to the media ahead of this weekend’s Bellator 237 in Saitama, Japan.
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 237, which takes place Saturday with a Fedor Emelianenko vs. Quinton Jackson main event.
The final Bellator event of the year takes place Saturday with Bellator 237, which goes down at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with a main card that airs on Paramount.
A heavyweight showdown between fighters who made the majority of their fame in “The Land of the Rising Sun” is set to serve as the main event. Former PRIDE champ [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (38-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) is set to meet former UFC champ [autotag]Quinton Jackson[/autotag] (38-13 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) in a three-round bout.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 30 pre-event facts about Bellator 237.
* * * *
Emelianenko, 43, is the oldest of the 12 scheduled main card fighters.
Emelianenko is 4-2 since he returned from retirement in December 2015.
Emelianenko is 13-4 (with one no contest) when facing former UFC champions or title challengers.
Emelianenko has earned 29 of his 38 career victories by stoppage. That includes both of his Bellator wins.
Emelianenko has suffered all six of his career losses by stoppage.
Jackson returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 29, 2018. The 454-day layoff is the longest of his more than 20-year career.
Jackson did not compete in 2019. It’s the first time he hasn’t fought inside a calendar year since making his MMA debut in 1999.
Jackson competes in his eighth career heavyweight bout. He’s 4-3 when competing in the weight class.
Jackson has suffered his past four losses by decision. He hasn’t been stopped since September 2011.
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 16-5 BMMA) competes in his 22nd Bellator bout, tied for the second most appearances in company history behind David Rickels (23).
Chandler’s 16 victories in Bellator competition are tied with Patricio Freire for second most in company history behind Patricio Freire (18).
Chandler’s 14 victories in Bellator lightweight competition are tied with Patricky Freire for most in divisional history.
Chandler’s 11 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are tied with Freire and A.J. McKee for most in company history.
Chandler’s six submission victories in Bellator competition are tied for second most in company history behind Goiti Yamauchi (seven).
Chandler’s 11 appearances in Bellator title fights are tied with Freire for most in company history.
Chandler is one of two fighters in Bellator/UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce history with three title reigns in a single weight class. Randy Couture also accomplished the feat.
Chandler’s six victories in Bellator championship fights are second most in company history behind Freire (eight).
Chandler’s five losses in Bellator title fights are the most in company history.
[autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) makes his second Bellator appearance in a 42-day stretch. He was victorious at Bellator 234 on Nov. 15.
[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) becomes the first fighter to make five Bellator appearances in 2019.
Page makes his second Bellator appearance in a 34-day stretch. He was victorious at Bellator Europe 6 on Nov. 23.
Page’s 10-fight Bellator winning streak, snapped in Bellator 221, is tied for the second longest streak in company history behind McKee (16).
Page’s 12 victories in Bellator welterweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Andrey Koreshkov (13) and Douglas Lima (13).
Page’s nine stoppage victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Lima for most in divisional history.
Page’s eight knockout victories in Bellator competition are third most in company history behind Lima (nine) and Patricky Freire (nine).
Page’s eight knockout victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Lima for most in divisional history.
[autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) is 6-3 since he dropped to the welterweight division in January 2015.
Larkin’s three-fight Bellator winning streak at welterweight is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Logan Storley (five) and Joey Davis (five).
Larkin has earned eight of his past 11 victories by decision. That includes all three of his Bellator wins.
[autotag]Keita Nakamura[/autotag] (35-10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights. He was victorious in his most recent bout at Rizin FF 19 in October.
[autotag]Ilara Joanne[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), 25, is the youngest of the 12 scheduled main card fighters.
[autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (24-4 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) is 5-1 since he moved up to the Bellator lightweight division in October 2016.
Yamauchi has earned 20 of his 24 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his 10 Bellator wins.
Yamauchi’s seven submission victories in Bellator competition are most in company history.
We want your predictions for Bellator 237 in Japan.
We want your predictions for this week’s Bellator 237 event in Japan.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 237 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. Bellator 237, the promotion’s debut in Japan, takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, near Tokyo. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
