The final bout of Fedor Emelianenko’s storied MMA journey will not take place in Moscow.
Scott Coker, president of
Bellator said Saturday that Emelianenko’s retirement battle has forced the promotion to pivot due to ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
” “It’s certainly not going to take place in Moscow this year,” Coker said following Bellator 276.. We’re not going to do Fedor’s retire fight there, for obvious reasons. We’ll be looking for an alternative site at some point, but we’re going to sit down with Fedor when he comes to [Bellator 277] in San Jose and see what he’s thinking.”
“The Last Emperor” recently competed in Moscow and created one of 2021’s more memorable moments when he knocked out Timothy Johnson in less than two minutes in the main event of Bellator 269 in October. He will be entering his last MMA fight victorious in four out of five first round finishes. These victories include wins over Chael Sonnen and Quinton Jackson.
Coker revealed that the promotion received approval to host an event in one the most historic areas of Moscow. Coker and the promotion have now been cancelled. However, they will still try to provide a memorable experience for the Pride FC veteran.
“We had an amazing show planned in Moscow,” Coker said. I don’t mind sharing this, but the original approval was given to fight on Red Square. It would have been a wonderful send off for the GOAT.
“Now, we have to pivot and create something else that’s great, find another venue, and find another amazing site because he deserves to have a great sendoff — and we’ll do that — we just don’t know where yet.”
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