Fedor Emelianenko insists retirement wasn’t on his mind following a knockout loss to Matt Mitrione.
Back in June 2017, Emelianenko took on Mitrione at the Bellator NYC pay-per-view. The action was held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. “The Last Emperor” and Mitrione fell victim to a double knockdown. Emelianenko got the brunt of it and he was knocked out on the ground.
Emelianenko will return to action tomorrow night (April 28) against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title holder Frank Mir. This will be a Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix bout. Emelianenko’s return to the Bellator cage came as a surprise to those who thought the former Pride FC heavyweight ruler would retire.
During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Emelianenko told Ariel Helwani that retirement never crossed his mind:
“After the fight with Matt Mitrione I didn’t consider and I didn’t think about retiring. I was thinking that I was planning to continue fighting. Things happen.”
When Emelianenko steps inside the Bellator cage tomorrow night, he’ll be looking for his first win in the United States since knocking out Brett Rogers back in Nov. 2009. “The Last Emperor” is also in search of his first victory under the Bellator banner. Mir is making his Bellator debut.
Bellator 198 takes place inside the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. In the co-main event, featherweights Emmanuel Sanchez and Sam Sicilia will do battle. Also featured on the main card will be a catchweight clash between Gerald Harris and Rafael Lovato Jr. Neiman Gracie will take on Javier Torres and SBG Ireland’s Dillon Danis will go one-on-one with Kyle Walker.
Be sure to stick with MMANews.com for live coverage of Bellator 198. We’ll be providing results, highlights, and other post-fight tidbits.
Is this going to be the last stand for Fedor Emelianenko?
