Tag: Fedor Emelianenko

Spinning Back Clique: Fedor’s return, PFL season grades, Usman-Diaz beef, stories of 2021

Check out the latest edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” giving a quick spin on Emelianenko’s return, Usman and Diaz’s Twitter beef, and more.

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

This week, our panel weighs in on [autotag]Cyril Gane[/autotag]’s place in the heavyweight division, Kamaru Usman and Nate Diaz’s Twitter exchange, PFL’s regular season grade, who Fedor Emelianenko should face in his return, and more. Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Nolan King, and Matthew Wells weighed in with host John Morgan.

  • This past Saturday, UFC heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane defeated Alexander Volkov in the main event at UFC Fight Night 190. Only nine fights into his professional career, is it time to put him in a title fight now?
  • UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] ended up in an unexpected Twitter beef. It appeared the champ would be open to a matchup with Stockton’s scrapper. Diaz’s star power is strong, but how would it look if this fight actually came together?
  • The PFL wrapped up its 2021 regular season this past week, and a few big names and former champions failed to make the playoffs this season. Although there were some exciting moments during the season, a lot of expected names are out of the mix. The panel gives their grade for the regular season.
  • Bellator made a huge announcement last weekend, revealing that [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] will return to action in October for a fight to take place in Russia. We know when and where, but who is the right person to take on the heavyweight legend in his return to the cage?
  • With the biggest promotions in the sport idle this coming weekend, we take a look back over the first six months of 2021 to determine the biggest story of the year so far.

Hope you enjoy this week’s show. Watch the full episode of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

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With two Bellator fights left, Fedor Emelianenko has a lot of names in mind for retirement tour

“The Last Emporer” gives his take on his comeback, his future beyond Bellator Moscow, and more.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – “The Last Emperor” is embarking on the last ride of his mixed martial arts career, and it’s one he plans on enjoying.

A unanimous all-time legend often talked about as the greatest heavyweight of all time, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] has already accomplished so much in his career. With two fights left on his Bellator deal, however, he plans on honoring his contract. He’ll return Oct. 23 in Moscow – a fight he’s looking forward to.

“I’m feeling great,” Emelianenko told MMA Junkie on Friday through a translator. “I’m very excited to be back (and) to be fighting in Moscow. We had a situation that didn’t let us do the first fight, so now I’m back, and I’m very excited to do so. … I feel great. I can’t relax just yet. I’m working with the young guys, and I can’t let them get on top of me just yet.”

The event at VTB Arena will be Bellator’s debut in Russia – a plan the promotion was working on at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, it was very important to me,” Emelianenko said. “I like to represent my country, and it’s very exciting for the Russian fans because it’s the first time Bellator is coming to Russia. All the fans get to see their favorite fighters live.”

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Now that the “when” and “where” have been determined, the question has now become “Whom?” Whom will Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) fight? Emelianenko was noncommittal, but said there are a lot of options.

“I’ve got a lot of names in my head, but it’s up to Bellator,” Emelianenko said. “For now, I’m just figuring out names. But it’s up to Bellator.”

Beyond Oct. 23, Emelianenko plans on competing at least one more time.

“I still have two fights on my contract left,” Emelianenko said. “We’ll see what happens. I would like to finish them. If not, we’ll figure it out.”

At 44, Emelianenko is in the twilight of his career, but he’s still moving forward. Unlike motivating factors of yesteryear, Emelianenko continues his career for two reasons: enjoyment and proving to the youth that the old legend still has it.

“My motivation is that I enjoy having fun in the fights, and just fighting and helping the young guys along with me and them following my footsteps,” Emelianenko said. “I don’t let them go just yet in training. It’s very fun, and I do it for pleasure.”

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Scott Coker: Josh Barnett, Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem among those in talks for Fedor Emelianenko

Plenty of hands were raised when Bellator announced Fedor Emelianenko is returning this October.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When Bellator announced [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag]’s return Friday morning, a lot of hands went up according to promotion president Scott Coker.

While the announcement revealed Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) will fight Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow, the opponent has still not been decided. Following Bellator 261 on Friday, Coker was pressed on potential matchmaking options and revealed a few of the names he’s been talking to in recent days.

“Believe me, there is no shortage of opponents (for) Russia right now,” Coker said at a post-fight news conference. “Listen, the managers of all the free agents are calling. [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] was texting me today. I talked to ([autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag]’) manager a couple days ago. [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag]. The list goes on and on and on.”

Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is currently under contract with Bellator, though he has not competed for the organization – or at all, since 2016. He’s been vocal about his desire for the Emelianenko matchup, something he asked for publicly as recently as Friday.

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Dos Santos (21-9) was released from the UFC in March and has not signed with another organization.

Overeem (47-19), who was released the same day as Dos Santos, recently announced he signed with GLORY Kickboxing. However, the terms of his contract and its exclusivity pertaining to MMA is not known. Additionally, Bellator and GLORY have cross-promoted in the past.

Coker said one matchup he has not considered and looked into is former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] (34-11), who defeated boxing star Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision in an exhibition match June 19.

Bellator 261 took place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator announces Fedor Emelianenko return for Oct. 23 in Moscow

“The Last Emperor” is ready to resume his farewell tour.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] is headed home.

For the first time in nearly two years, the legendary mixed martial arts heavyweight will return to competition. While Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) doesn’t have an opponent yet, the venue and location are set. He’ll compete Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow, the promotion announced in a news conference Friday.

Emelianenko, 44, has not competed since December 2019 when he defeated Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237 via first-round TKO. Although he’s only competed four times since 2017, Emelianenko is 3-1 over that stretch. Prior to a knockout loss to Ryan Bader, “The Last Emporer” advanced through two rounds of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix with finishes over Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir.

While speculation will continue as to who he’ll fight next, Emelianenko told MMA Junkie on Friday that there are a lot of names for him to fight. While he certainly has options a decision has not been made. He’ll discuss with Bellator and ultimately come to a decision.

No other fights have been announced for the card at this time.

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Scott Coker: Fedor Emelianenko will fight soon – and Junior Dos Santos or Alistair Overeem could be next

Fedor Emelianenko has resumed training after a 2020 bout with COVID-19 and Scott Coker is seeing what free agents are available.

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UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] is gearing up for a return to the cage after a battle outside of it, according to Bellator president Scott Coker.

Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), who has not competed since December 2019, contracted COVID-19 in 2020. The virus landed him in the hospital for a short period of time before he was released.

Coker told MMA Junkie on Thursday that he plans on meeting with Emelianenko during Bellator 256 fight week next week to discuss the specifics, but he’s been told the Russian legend is already back in the gym and preparing for a comeback.

“He’s doing much better and he’s ready to start training and getting ready,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “He will fight here in the next several months, I think. I’m going to talk to him when he gets here next week. He’s coming with (Vadim) Nemkov. I’ll have a chance to sit down and talk to him. I’ll make sure we’re on the same page as far as the timing of it all. I’m thinking late summer or early fall, you’ll see Fedor in the cage again.”

With a couple of high-profile heavyweight free agents on the market, Coker sees possibilities for Emelianenko’s next opponent. Former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] and former perennial UFC heavyweight contender [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] both are on the market.

Coker confirmed Bellator has been in talks with both. While the promotion isn’t necessarily interested in locking the 37-year-old Dos Santos (21-9) or the 40-year-old Overeem (47-19) up for multiyear deals, Coker said one-fight deals could be an option if the other parties involved are interested.

“We’re not going to sign these guys to, like, a two-year, six-fight deal or build them up,” Coker said. “They’ve done everything. They’ve already proved themselves. They are legends of the sport already. But what I will say is we do have legends of the sport here. If we go down the road, and we think a Fedor opponent will work, Alistair and Fedor will be very interesting to me. Junior Dos Santos and Fedor will be very interesting to me.”

As Coker pointed out, Emelianenko and Overeem have history, too. Both participated in the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix in 2011 and could’ve fought one another. But Emelianenko was eliminated by Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem withdrew from the tournament due to contractual issues.

“We put them on opposite sides of the bracket and Fedor lost,” Coker said. “It just didn’t get to the end. Having that fight now might be interesting. We’re still a long ways away from making that happen. But (with) superfights, if they’re open to it, what I told them both is, ‘Look, if you can get a contract somewhere else that is exclusive, then great. If you can’t and you want to fight superfights, the door is always open and we’ll have conversations.'”

Dos Santos is coming off four consecutive knockout losses. Overeem went 2-1 prior to his UFC release. Emelianenko has won three of four, a stretch that includes victories over Quinton Jackson, Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir.

The promotion makes its Showtime debut Friday with Bellator 255 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The entire card also will stream on MMA Junkie.

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Josh Barnett, Tito Ortiz express interest in being Fedor Emelianenko’s final Bellator foe

It appears Scott Coker will have options when deciding who to put across the cage from Fedor Emelianenko in his farewell fight.

It appears Scott Coker will have options when deciding who to put across the cage from [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] in his farewell fight.

Bellator president Coker told MMA Junkie in December that he has a big grand finale in mind for Emelianenko’s (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) illustrious career. It includes putting the Russian in a packed stadium of 30,000 people in Moscow, but the coronavirus pandemic obviously makes that an extremely challenging aspiration.

With the COVID-19 vaccine starting to roll out, though, Coker’s optimism is increasing that he can successfully execute his plan. If it does happens, who will be standing across from him?

The MMA Junkie staff made some choices in the most recent edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” a weekly panel discussion on MMA topics. Two names who weren’t mentioned, though, were former UFC champions [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] and [autotag]Tito Ortiz[/autotag], who threw their names into the hat over the weekend (via Twitter):

Barnett (35-8), who said he’s the “only correct decision” in a follow-up reply on Twitter, has a history with Emelianenko. The pair were supposed to fight in the now-defunct Affliction organization in 2009, but the fight fell apart days prior when Barnett failed a drug test, sparking a chain reaction that in the opinion of many led to the promotion’s downfall.

The years since have seen Barnett repeatedly push to have the fight rebooked, but it’s never come to fruition.

Ortiz (21-12-1), meanwhile, hasn’t fought for Bellator since beating Chael Sonnen in January 2017. He’s had a pair of fights against Chuck Liddell and Alberto Del Rio, but hasn’t competed since December 2019 and has since moved into a career in politics, serving in a well-publicized role on the Huntington Beach city council.

Emelianenko, for his part, last saw action at Bellator 237 in December 2019, finishing Quinton Jackson with strikes in the first round.

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Video: Who should Bellator choose as Fedor Emelianenko’s final foe?

Bellator president Scott Coker has indicated he wants to go big, so what could that mean?

As the calendar turns to 2021, the ramping up of the COVID-19 vaccine leads to hope there’s a light at the end of the tunnel to enable the world to resume normal activities.

This includes the fight game. Bellator resumed operations in a bubble over the second half of the year, but it has done so without legendary Russian star [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag].

Company president Scott Coker recently explained to MMA Junkie this has been intentional: Emelianenko has talked about finishing his career with a flourish, and Coker doesn’t want this to go down in an empty-arena atmosphere. He went so far as to hint that the former longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion could have his last tango in the promotion’s first card in Russia.

So who should be on the other side of the cage for Fedor’s final fight? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Danny Segura, and Simon Samano weighed in during this week’s episode.

We won’t give spoilers, but here are some clues: Interesting ideas include a former opponent, a former UFC heavyweight champion, an out-of-the-box non-heavyweight, and, in a Coker specialty, a cross-promotional fight.

You can watch in the video above.

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SBC – Fedor’s swan song

On this week’s episode of Spinning Back Clique, host John Morgan is joined by Simon Samano, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia to recap the key storylines from the week and discuss the biggest matchup looking ahead into 2021.

On this week’s episode of Spinning Back Clique, host John Morgan is joined by Simon Samano, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia to recap the key storylines from the week and discuss the biggest matchup looking ahead into 2021.

Conor McGregor’s toughest match | Spinning Back Clique

On this week’s episode of Spinning Back Clique, host John Morgan is joined by Simon Samano, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia to recap the key storylines from the week and discuss the biggest matchup looking ahead into 2021.

On this week’s episode of Spinning Back Clique, host John Morgan is joined by Simon Samano, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia to recap the key storylines from the week and discuss the biggest matchup looking ahead into 2021.