Fedor Emelianenko to return on Oct. 23 in Russia. Full press conference
Fedor Emelianenko will return to the Bellator cage later this year.
This morning, Bellator MMA held a press conference with Emelianenko, Bellator President Scott Coker and commentator and former referee John McCarthy to announce the return of the heavyweight legend.
The press conference opened with a highlight reel of all the countries Bellator has traveled to over the years. That’s when Coker teased that Bellator will be on the road again soon. From there, Coker and McCarthy talked about all of the talent Bellator has on their roster from Russia and Ukraine. That opened the door to talk Emelianenko.
The promotion then announced that Emelianenko will return on Oct. 23 when Bellator comes to the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia.
“I have had the pleasure of working alongside Fedor for 12 years and nine of his fights during his time with Bellator and Strikeforce,” said Coker. “It’s an honor to bring him home to compete in front of his fans who have followed his entire career. In addition to Fedor, we will showcase Bellator’s deep roster of Russian talent and put together a historic card for our first trip to Russia on Oct. 23.”
Following the announcement, Emelianenko did take questions from the press. “The Last Emperor” said he plans on fighting out his contract, which has two fights left on it. There are no opponents named for his last two fights and Emelianenko is leaving it up to the promotion to decide who he fights in his final fights.
While Emelianenko knows his fighting career is coming to an end, he still plans on being heavily involved with the sport as he is coaching a number of fighters in Russia and he plans to continue doing that.
To hear everything Emelianenko and Coker had to say, you can watch the full press conference in the video above.
