Fedor Emelianenko wants rematch against Fabricio Werdum
MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko received travel clearance and is on the ground at the Mohegan Sun. The MMA superstar made the trip from Russia to corner his teammate Vadim Nemkov for his fight against Ryan Bader at Bellator 244.
Emelianenko told reporters he has been training this whole time.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Emelianenko said through an interpreter. “Everything is fine. I’ve never stopped training. I’m constantly training, waiting for the next fight.”
“I don’t necessarily feel a sense of urgency (to compete), but I also don’t want to wait too long, either,” Emelianenko said. “If there are no people in the audience then the TV audience is that much larger. It doesn’t take away from the fight. Eyeballs are still watching.”
“I have a meeting with Scott to discuss what the future holds as far as fighting,” Emelianenko said. “Obviously, (the pandemic) is unfortunate. Tomorrow there will be a fight without fans, but these are the times we’re living in.”
Emelianenko voiced his interest to fight Fabricio Werdum again. In 2010, he suffered a loss to Werdum in a shocking upset.
“For myself, yes, I would like to fight him,” Emelianenko said. “Whether that’s a fight fans are interested in seeing or Bellator is interested in putting on, I don’t know that.”
Bellator promoter Scott Coker spoke to reporters regarding the retirement tour for Emelianenko.
“(The plans) haven’t changed,” Coker said. “It’s just now we have a little beat now because of the COVID situation. We’re going to see how it goes because Europe has started to open up where you can actually have some fans. The numbers are way down, and they kind of have it under control a little bit better than we do (in the U.S.).
“… But listen, Fedor has to fight in front of fans. I think that’s why you don’t see a lot of the MMA stars fighting now, because they need the fans there to support it. Fedor is the same way. He’s the greatest heavyweight of all time. For me, it would be a shame for him to fight in an arena where there’s nobody there to watch his last few fights. We’re going to play it by ear. This is actually the first time I’ve seen Fedor.”
Coker expressed interest in the rematch and if Emelianenko really wants the fight, Coker will do his part to help make it happen.
“I love Fabricio, and it’s something really that’s Fedor’s decision,” Coker said. “One of the things I’m going to talk to Fedor (about) tonight is, ‘Is this an important fight for you?’ Whatever he says, then we’ll go make it happen. If it’s an important fight to him, then we’ll probably put it together. If not, it doesn’t mean we won’t still pursue Fabricio.
“The fight with him and Fedor would be something that, if it was an important revenge-type scenario for Fedor in his mind and something that still eats at him every day, then it would be something we’d be interested in.”
