Fedor Emelianenko will fight Bellator Heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in his final MMA bout:
The fight will take place at Bellator 290. It will also feature Yoel Romero taking on the winner of Nemkov v Anderson II for the Light Heavyweight title in the co-main event.
Fedor is coming off two consecutive wins, with his most recent loss coming in his 2019 matchup with Ryan Bader for the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix title. Since then, he has beaten Quentin “Rampage” Jackson and Timothy Johnson.
UFC Veteran Bader has enjoyed a huge amount of success in Bellator, at one stage holding both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight belts simultaneously. He won the Heavyweight belt with a KO win over Fedor at Bellator 214.
Winning the title would mark a fairytale end to Fedor’s career. But, given all of his accomplishments it should not change how fans view one of the most decorated careers in all of MMA.
Fedor’s Legacy
Fedor is widely recognised as one of the greatest fighters of all time. For many fans he considered as the greatest Heavyweight of all time.
His 10 year, 28 fight (1 NC) undefeated run is the stuff of legend. It included wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovksi, as well as multiple wins over “Big Nog” Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Fedor was the PRIDE Heavyweight champion, defending the title on three occasions and remained the champion until the organisation folded. He also won their 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix.
The period over which Fedor reigned is considered to be the golden age of Heavyweight MMA. This makes his dominance and accomplishments all the more special. He was named “Fighter of the Decade” in the 2000’s by a litany of media outlets, including MMAFighting and Sports Illustrated.
A three fight losing streak in Strikeforce seemed to spell the end of a legendary career. It was the only time Fedor has lost consecutive fights. However, Fedor rallied a five fight winning streak, albeit against questionable levels of opponents, which led to him signing with Bellator. Since then, he has gone 4-2 in all action fights – with all of them ending by KO.
The only thing missing from Fedor’s resume is fighting in the UFC. According to Dana White a deal was close for him to challenge Brock Lesnar for the title, but ultimately the deal never materialised. It is the only fight White ever regrets not making.
Fedor will draw the curtains on an incredible career, and will forever be remembered by MMA fans.
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Featured image credits to Bellator PR
