Bellator Wants To Bring Fedor Emelianenko Back To Japan
It looks like Fedor Emelianenko’s retirement tour with Bellator could feature a stop in Japan.
Bellator president Scott Coker spoke to “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show” this week and discussed the possibility of running a show in Japan. The show would ideally be a cross-promotion event with RIZIN in December (via BJPenn.com):
“There’s nothing confirmed,” Coker said. “As people already know, we’ve been talking to Sakakibara about doing some type of event together. We haven’t decided if it’s going to be a ‘co-pro,’ fight sharing, a Bellator event by itself.
“But I’d love nothing more than to be in Japan sometime in December throwing a big fight there at Saitama Super Arena, where all the big fights happen.”
In regards to who Fedor could fight on the Japan card, he threw out potential names such as Josh Barnett and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, two very big names amongst the Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) community:
“Whether it’s a Japanese fighter or he fights (Quinton) ‘Rampage’ Jackson or Josh Barnett, or whoever, I think it would just be a magical night to see him back in the Bellator cage in Tokyo,” Coker said.
Fedor competed regularly in Japan in the early years of his MMA career. However; once he started fighting for promotions such as Affliction, Strikeforce, and Bellator, Fedor’s appearances in Japan have become rarer in recent years.
What do you think about Fedor possibly returning to Japan along with Bellator?
