Fedor Emelianenko’s greatness will be recognized by some of the greatest to ever do it.
Following of the last fight of “The Last Emperor,” which takes place against heavyweight champion Ryan Bader this Saturday at Bellator 290 in Inglewood, Calif., Emelianenko will be honored with a special ceremony on fight night that has an illustrious guest list, which includes legends Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell and more.
Bellator President Scott Coker revealed the complete list of participants on The MMA Hour .
According to Coker, these famous names lined up to celebrate Emelianenko when the news came around that the all-time great heavyweight was announced for his final fight.
” This happened organically,” Coker stated. We started receiving calls from fighters who wanted to attend the Fedor fight. So one of the first calls I got was from Randy Couture saying, ‘Hey, I’d like to attend his last fight.’ I said, ‘Great.’ Then Dan Henderson said, ‘Hey, I’d really like to be there.’ Royce Gracie wanted to come, so he’s there. Mark Coleman will attend.
” All these legends from MMA that are truly the root and foundation of MMA began calling us and saying, “Look, this is a very important occasion.” All these O.G.s and legends of MMA will be there, so why not do something unique? … It’s really the who’s who of MMA from that era. This is it. The page has turned to the next chapter in mixed martial arts. Fedor, however, is The Last Emperor. This is Fedor’s last chance. All these gentlemen will enter the cage while Fedor says his speech. They’ll stand by Fedor and when Fedor puts his gloves down they’ll all be there to celebrate with him. This is a ceremony and a great sendoff to the greatest heavyweight of all time.”
Emelianenko has crossed paths either directly or indirectly with several of the invitees, including in-cage clashes with Jackson, Sonnen, Henderson, and Coleman. He was also tied to bouts with Couture and Barnett that never materialized.
The other legends set to appear may not have as distinct a connection with Emelianenko, but Coker is thrilled to have them all the same.
“It’s something that’s really special and means a lot to me because I look at this from a martial arts perspective,” Coker said. They are among the most important martial artists in their era. Their work helped to create MMA and the future of mixed martial arts. They deserve to be in the cage with Fedor. This is going to be an unforgettable moment. I look forward to meeting all of these gentlemen and sharing my excitement.
” These gentlemen were so kind and respectful. I said to them that they would be happy to take Fedor Emelianenko .”
into the cage.
An additional wrinkle in Emelianenko’s retirement fight is that if he wins Bader, Emelianenko would be crowned Bellator’s heavyweight champion. Coker confirmed that the title will be vacated in the event of an Emelianenko victory.
” We have some other fighters we could use in the future for a title bout, but when he loses or draws this fight, then he will retire,” Coker stated. “So that title, if he wins, will be vacant.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/1/23581556/fedor-emelianenko-retirement-celebration-to-include-legends-randy-couture-royce-gracie-chuck-liddell?rand=96749
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