Scott Coker Has One More Fight Planned For Fedor Emelianenko Early Next Year
It may not be long until we see Fedor Emelianenko in action again.
“”The Last Emperor” enjoyed bellator-269/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>an emphatic knockout victory over Tim Johnson in the Bellator 269 headliner last night in Moscow, Russia.
It was Emelianenko’s first fight in nearly two years as well as his first fight in front of his home fans in Russia in five years. And Bellator MMA president Scott Coker was certainly delighted with what he saw.
“Being a promoter for so long, there’s a few times that just capture that moment in time,” Coker said (via MMA Junkie). “This is that night. It was like, ‘Wow.’ At 45, he can still bring it. He threw combinations at Tim that I haven’t seen for a little while honestly. I think that the pressure of him being at home really helped him. When I saw him yesterday, he seemed so focused, and I think a lot was riding on the line for him.
“He’s here, and he’s proud to be here. All of his people were here. It was just an amazing night. It was like, ‘Wow.’”
Given the nature of the win, it would seem the ideal time for Emelianenko to walk off into the sunset and retire as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
However, Coker has scheduled one more fight for Emelianenko and expects it to take place early next year. For now, he is simply letting the Russian enjoy his victory.
“We have scheduled one more fight for him,” Coker added. “I know him. He’s looked really good and beat (a top) contender, but let him enjoy the victory. Let him really savor this thing, and we’ll revisit with him maybe in a month. I think the next event we’ll have, we’ll probably schedule it early next year or maybe Spring of next year. That’s when you’ll see Fedor fight again.”
Emelianenko, meanwhile, was coy on the topic of fighting again.
“I will answer this question tomorrow,” Emelianenko said, with a smile.
Who do you want to see Emelianenko fight next?
