Tag: Fedor Emelianenko

Yorgan De Castro wants opportunity to fight Fedor Emelianenko, open to rematch with Junior Dos Santos

Yorgan De Castro was counted out ahead of Eagle FC 47, now he wants the same opportunity to fight a legend.

MIAMI – No matter how the fight ended, [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] can say he holds a win over former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.

In the third round of their heavyweight bout at Eagle FC 47, Dos Santos’ right shoulder became dislocated after landing a punch, leading to an immediate stop to the contest. De Castro was awarded the TKO victory in a fight that was competitive up to that point.

Considering the nature in which the fight ended against Dos Santos, which was not the manner in which he hoped to win the fight, De Castro was asked by reporters afterward if he would be open to a rematch. Without hesitation, he replied, “Absolutely.”

“I respect Junior,” De Castro said. “Not just like a fighter, as a human being. If he wants to run it back, right back, I run it right back. I can do it again. I’m a fighter, I want to test myself. Actually, I’m gonna come even better. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Let’s do it again.”

If that is the next fight for him, De Castro would enter the rematch with a different approach. Not just in how he plans to fight differently, De Castro would make changes to his physique as well.

“I’m gonna drop some weight, get a nutritionist right now soon as I go home,” De Castro said. “I’m gonna come lightning fast. I’m gonna drop 15, 20 pounds, kinda want to counter. He was pretty fast. I did not feel the power much, but he was super fast. … I need to be fast, press forward, and definitely check those kicks.”

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De Castro apologized for his loud celebration after the fight was called, but he assured he meant no disrespect to Dos Santos and the injury he suffered. The emotion was a release of frustration from being counted out all week long, with many assuming he would lose the fight.

“I felt everybody counted me out, everybody,” De Castro said. “So, don’t underestimate the power of someone who’s underestimated. I had a lot of emotions in me, a lot of feelings, a lot of anger.”

De Castro already felt overlooked, but the feelings reached a new height at the pre-fight press conference when Khabib Nurmagomedov announced he wished to work with Bellator to match up Dos Santos against [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] after Friday’s event. While De Castro understands his opponent has a bigger name as a former UFC champion, he felt slighted by being overlooked as a viable opponent.

“The thing is, you count me out already before the fight start,” De Castro said. “So, I feel like that if someone have to get that chance, then give it to me. I will take it too. I will sign the fight. I want to fight a legend like Fedor and I want to share the cage with him. And guess what? I will come for fight too. I can fight.”

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Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to work with Bellator to book Junior Dos Santos vs. Fedor Emelianenko

If Junior Dos Santos is victorious at Eagle FC 47, Khabib has big plans for the former UFC heavyweight champ.

Eagle FC owner [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] has big plans for [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag].

First Dos Santos has to get past Yorgan De Castro on Friday in the Eagle FC 47 main event at FLXcast Arena in Miami. The fight will serve as Dos Santos’ promotional debut and his first action since he was released by the UFC in early 2021 following a four-fight losing streak.

If Dos Santos (21-9) gets back in the win column, Nurmagomedov made it clear that he wants to work with Bellator to try and book the former UFC heavyweight champion against [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-6).

“If Dos Santos win, I really want to make Dos Santos vs. Fedor fight,” Nurmagomedov said Wednesday at an Eagle FC 47 pre-fight news conference. “But he has to focus on Yorgan for next, because this fighter here is tough opponent. I want to talk with my friend, Scott Coker, because Fedor is under Bellator contract. I don’t know what they’re gonna do next with him, but definitely we can talk, and we can do something. We can create some story. …

“Why not? These two guys was long time the face of MMA. Fedor was the greatest fighter of all time in my opinion, and Dos Santos was heavyweight champion a couple years in UFC. These two guys, I think they deserve and fans deserve. For me, it’s a very interesting matchup, too.”

Count Dos Santos in.

“I’m a big, big, BIG fan of Fedor, and I really belive – like Khabib said – that he is the greatest,” Dos Santos said. “That was a magical time in the MMA world when he did those amazing fights with ‘Big Nog.’ I wasn’t even fighting at that time, but I was such a big fan of them. For me, because I trained with ‘Big Nog,’ as well, it was always kind of a dream, the biggest thing I would like to achieve in my career would be to fight Fedor. So to hear that may be possible now, it’s just amazing.”

Whether or not Bellator president Scott Coker would be interested remains to be seen, although he’s openly advocated for cross-promotion fights and booked them when they make sense. Emelianenko, 45, has one fight left on his Bellator contract, which is expected to be his retirement fight. It’s unclear what that will be, although Coker recently said Emelianenko “deserves to have the largest platform and the biggest fight and the biggest event to hold his final fight.”

A matchup of legends with 38-year-old Dos Santos just might qualify.

Emelianenko, 45, most recently turned back the clock by knocking out Tim Johnson last October at Bellator 269 in Moscow, giving him back-to-back wins.

Video: Watch a Jorge Masvidal TKO in Bellator with Jon Anik on the call and much more

Before Bellator returns in less than two weeks, check out a big all-time highlights video featuring Jorge Masvidal, A.J. McKee and more.

Bellator returns in less than two weeks for a stretch that will see the promotion put on three cards in eight days.

Bellator 277 takes place April 15 in San Jose, Calif., and will be followed by back-to-back shows in Honolulu on April 22-23. Those cards are loaded with title fights, grand prix bouts and standout fighters.

But before those events get rolling, Bellator has put out a big compilation video that is jam-packed with some of the promotion’s all-time highlights – including one from the early days when future UFC “BMF” title winner [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] picked up a TKO win at Bellator’s first event … with future UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik on the call.

Check out the video above, which includes [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag]’s debut, a [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] knockout of Frank Mir and much more.

Scott Coker: Fedor’s final fight was set for Moscow’s Red Square, but now audible needs to be pulled

Everything was set for a perfect Fedor Emelianenko sendoff, but the war between Russia and Ukraine makes that no longer possible.

For over a year, Bellator has been zoning in on a specific location for the last ride of “The Last Emperor” [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] – but those plans are no longer.

Following the conclusion Saturday of Bellator 276, Coker revealed in a news conference the promotion got approval to hold the MMA legend’s final bout in Moscow’s Red Square. However, the war between Russia and Ukraine has thrown a monkey wrench in those plans and an audible be pulled.

“It’s definitely not going to happen in Moscow this year,” Coker said after Bellator 276. “We’re not going to do Fedor’s retirement fight there for obvious reasons. We will be looking for an alternative site at some point.”

A Red Square retirement for Emelianenko was approved by Kremlin officials approximately one year ago – with an event targeted for a mid-2022 timeline, a person with knowledge told MMA Junkie.

Coker didn’t go into further detail about what the revised options for Emelianenko’s final bout could entail, but said he plans to speak to the heavyweight fighter during Bellator 277 fight week mid-April in San Jose.

“We had an amazing show planned in Moscow. I don’t even mind telling you guys this, but we originally had approval to do the fight in Red Square, and it was going to be just a great sendoff for the G.O.A.T., in my opinion,” Coker said. “But now we have to pivot and create something else that’s great and find another venue and find another amazing site, because he deserves to have a great sendoff. We just don’t know exactly where yet.”

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Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) turns 46 in September. His “retirement tour” has been elongated due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. With original plans for a three-fight tour, Emelianenko revised it to two when COVID continued to delay Bellator going international. In October, Emelianenko finally returned from a near two-year absence when he knocked out Tim Johnson 100 seconds into their Bellator 269 headliner in Moscow.

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Ryan Bader open to Fedor Emelianenko rematch, but sees it as a lose-lose situation

For Ryan Bader, there isn’t too much to gain from a Fedor Emelianenko rematch.

PHOENIX – For [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag], there isn’t too much to gain from a [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] rematch.

Bellator president Scott Coker revealed Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) hopes heavyweight champion Bader (28-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) will be his retirement fight if Bader gets past his teammate and interim titleholder Valentin Moldavsky (11-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) in their unification bout at Bellator 273 on Saturday.

“I get it,” Bader told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s Bellator 273 media day. “I ended up knocking him out in 35 seconds, and I can see how he wouldn’t want to go out like that and want a rematch. I’m open to it, but I haven’t really thought about it too much.”

While Bader understands Emelianenko’s desire to walk away on top while avenging a loss, he just doesn’t see any perks of running things back for himself. Bader needed less than a minute to knock out Emelianenko to become dual-champ in the heavyweight grand prix final at Bellator 214 and knows he likely won’t top that performance.

“I want to focus on this fight – go out there, win this fight, and then see what the win side of that would look like for me, because right now looking at that is like a lose-lose situation,” Bader said. “I can’t beat him any better than I did. It is a big fight. Any Fedor fight is a big fight – especially his last retirement fight. But we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

Bellator 273 takes place Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Spinning Back Clique: Is Dana White in a fight that he can’t win?

This week on “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel looks ahead to UFC 270, discusses the ongoing Jake Paul vs. Dana White saga, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Mike Bohn discuss five topics with host John Morgan.

  • As we look to the first UFC pay-per-view of the new year, it seems the biggest storyline is [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s contract status rather than the unification of the UFC heavyweight title. What do you make of this very public battle, and do you think it will have an effect on what we see in the cage at UFC 270?
  • Speaking of public battles, Jake Paul vs. Dana White seems to be the matchup on everyone’s mind right now, at least if the MMA Junkie numbers are any indication. What do you make of this continued battle? Is Paul really just trying to be an advocate for fighters? And is White making a mistake by engaging him? What is happening here?
  • If we’re looking at fights that might actually happen in 2022, [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] says a matchup with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] is in the works. “El Cucuy” fought just once in 2021 and is looking to snap a three-fight skid. Meanwhile, Chandler is also on a two-fight losing streak, albeit a “Fight of the Year” effort and a UFC title fight. So does this fight make sense for one man more than the other? Or should the UFC be looking at something different?
  • Meanwhile, over at Bellator, Scott Coker has said that if [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] is victorious at Bellator 273 later this month, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] wants that matchup for his retirement fight. What do we think of this idea? Is it a good one?
  • Lastly, we didn’t have any major MMA this past week, but we did see no less than 12 UFC fighters in action at FURY Professional Grappling 3. I can tell you first-hand it was a lot of fun, and people got to put some paychecks in their pocket, but there was one very unfortunate result, with [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] suffering a pretty nasty cut, so what do we think here? Do we need more of this? Or does the risk make it a little dangerous? What do we think?

22 fights on our MMA wishlist for 2022: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3, Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal

What are some of your dream matchups for 2022? Here are 22 fights MMA Junkie hopes to see happen in 2022.

Amidst a tumultuous global pandemic there were many grim realities humans had to endure in 2021. One thing was consistently good, however, and that’s combat sports.

Although just five fights of 21 fights from the 2021 MMA wishlist came to fruition, the sport was extremely hot and gave fans many memorable moments. The world leader of MMA – the UFC – had a particularly great year, and that momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing heading into 2022.

It’s not just UFC fights that are taking attention, either. There’s also plenty happening in Bellator, PFL, Eagle FC and many other promotions.

MMA is in a great spot, and with much excitement we present MMA Junkie’s wishlist of 22 fights we’d like to see in 2022.

With 2021 in the books, Scott Coker looks ahead to Bellator’s 2022 – title fights, Fedor and more

Following the final Bellator event of 2021, Scott Coker rattled off a handful of the promotion’s early 2022 plans.

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UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator 272 marked the end of the promotion’s 2021 campaign, and company president Scott Coker is turning his attention toward the new year.

Currently, the promotion has not publicly announced any events for 2022. Following Friday’s event at Mohegan Sun, however, Coker revealed some of what Bellator has on the docket. From impending title fights to the next tournament, Coker voiced optimism and excitement for the direction the promotion is heading.

Scroll below to read quotes from the Bellator boss on a handful of topics, including the next title fight in various divisions.

Insider’s Scoop: Fedor Emelianenko’s last ride, Tony Ferguson, ‘The Korean Zombie,’ more

MMA Junkie’s Nolan King shares news tidbits and rumblings from around the MMA world.

Before we get into the crux of what you all showed up for (news), we want to re-introduce you to the “Insider’s Scoop.”

Every once in and while, our reporters, when enough noteworthy developments have piled up, will release news in an easy-to-digest roundup for the MMA Junkie audience.

From fight rumblings to event locations and dates to roster departures and more, various tidbits will be featured each time “Insider’s Scoop” is released.

So without further ado, here’s the latest edition of “Insider’s Scoop.”

Spinning Back Clique: On Fedor’s next fight, Paulo Costa and Nate Diaz’s UFC futures, and more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we look at [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag]’s stunning performance, the saga between [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] and [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], the futures of [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] and [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag], and what to expect at UFC 267.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and “Gorgeous” George Garcia discuss these topics with host John Morgan.

  • This past weekend, 45-year-old Fedor Emelianenko was in vintage form, scoring an incredible walk-off knockout of Tim Johnson in Russia. It was a pretty special moment for the former PRIDE champ, and Fedor seems to want to fight out his current deal with Bellator before calling it a career. So what fight should be next?
  • It was an intriguing week in the UFC, as well, with Paulo Costa admitting a bicep injury was the culprit behind his inability to make middleweight against Marvin Vettori, leading to the fight ultimately taking place at light heavyweight. Afterward Vettori’s win, UFC president Dana White said he believes Costa will need to compete at 205 pounds moving forward, while the Brazilian suggested maybe it was going to take a little more money for him to make a move like that. Three questions: What makes sense for Costa now? Is the UFC setting a bad precedent for allowing this? And did Vettori get a raw deal after all was said and done?
  • After UFC Fight Night 196, White confirmed that Nate Diaz has one fight remaining with the promotion and that the company was currently working on booking that contest. What is the best fight to make for Diaz right now, and do you believe that will be the last time he fights for the UFC?
  • It’s championship week in the PFL, with the organization set to crown six new champs and hand out six more $1 million checks. It’s a big night, and there should be some great fights, but it’s hard not to focus on what happens afterward, when we know that undefeated star Kayla Harrison is set to become a free agent. Should she stay, or should she go? What’s the best next move for Harrison, and is it impacted by how things turn out in her fight with Taylor Guardado?
  • UFC 267 is this Saturday in Abu Dhabi with a special early start time for everyone, and it’s loaded with some very meaningful fights. Jan Blachowicz-Glover Teixeira, Cory Sandhagen-Petr Yan, Dan Hooker-Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev-Li Jingliang are among the fights generating the most buzz. Who’s going to steal the spotlight at Etihad Arena?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

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