Fedor Emelianenko waves to the crowd following a fight in 2018.
Fedor Emelianenko hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection
MMA legend, Fedor Emelianenko is in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 according to various Russian reports.
Emelianenko is being treated at Clinical Hospital No. 52 in the Russian capital admission to the medical facility was reported by RIA Novosti. They cited information given to them by the medical institution, the report reads. Emelianenko also posted an Instagram message telling his supporters he is doing well and is now in recovery.
“Thanks to all who are genuinely concerned for my health,” the message reads, via translation by RT Sport. “I feel fine, I am going into recovery. I’m grateful to the doctors and medical staff for their care and hard work.”
Obviously, the hope for many is the 44-year-old overcomes the virus as the MMA world has seen several legendary die from the virus. The good news, as he notes in his Instagram message is that he is feeling fine and into recovery.
Fedor Emelianenko is 39-6 and one no-contest in his career. The Russian has not fought since he scored a first-round KO over Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237 in Japan in December of 2019. The hope for Bellator was to have his farewell tour in 2021. They also wanted to have fans in the building to watch Emelianenko fight.
As of right now, there is no word on who his next fight will be. But, there are plenty of options. He could face the likes of Josh Barnett, and Tito Ortiz who have said they would be interested in fighting Emelianenko in his retirement fight.
Obviously, right now, Fedor Emelianenko needs to fully recover from the virus before he will be able to fight again. However, it is likely he only has a few fights left in his legendary career. In his career, the Russian holds notable wins over Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman, Mirko Cro Cop, and, Mark Hunt.
