Photo by Esther Lin
Fooled by Rizin FF: Fedor’s opponent named
There is an old saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
Well…. we got fooled. Earlier this year after it was announced that Fedor Emelianenko would return to mixed martial arts action it was reported that ‘The Last Emporer’ would fight Jaideep Singh. We jumped on that and reported it, but the myth was quickly debunked by Rizin FF.
Fedor aligned with former Pride boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara’s new promotion to headline the new organization’s end of year card. Sakakibara would state that Fedor’s opponent was not Singh.
“We would like to select a fighter who will mean something for the future of mixed martial arts,” he said.
So…. everyone went about their way, waiting for the new name to be released.
Weeks went by and still no name. There were talks about who it might be, but it was all rumor, up until yesterday.
And….. after all that speculation and denial, Fedor’s opponent….. Jaideep Singh. Wait…. what?
The 6-foot-6 Singh most recently fought in MMA in June 2013 at Super Fight League 19. He stopped Alireza Tavak with a first-round TKO at that event in India. He only has two professional MMA bouts to his record compared to Fedor’s near 40.
The fight will be the culmination of a three day “Fight Expo” at the Saitama Super Arena and Keyaki area running 12/29, 12/30, 12/31.
