Bellator MMA had big plans for Fedor Emelianenko’s farewell fight in his home country, but the ongoing conflict betwen Russia and Ukraine have forced the promotion to shift gears.
Bellator president Scott Coker addressed the Emelianenko situation when speaking to reporters following Bellator 276 on Saturday night. Coker added that he’ll be able to gain more clarity when he meets with “The Last Emperor” next month.
“It’s definitely not going to happen in Moscow this year,” Coker said. “We’re not gonna do Fedor’s retirement 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.”
Emelianenko had an impressive performance at VTB Arena in Moscow on Oct. 23, when he knocked out Timothy Johnson 1:40 into the opening round of their main event clash at Bellator 269. Coker revealed that the promotion initially had a spectacular sendoff in mind for the former Pride Fighting Championship’s star in his homeland. Now, Emelianenko will still get a retirement fight, but the location and venue will be decidedly different.
“We had an amazing show planned in Moscow,” Coker said. “I don’t even mind telling you this but we originally had approval to do the fight in Red Square, and it was going to be such a great sendoff for the GOAT in my opinion.
“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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