Scott Coker thinks gargantuan for Fedor Emelianenko’s closing fights

By Dave Doyle and Mike Bohn |

December 26, 2020 9: 55 am

There’s been a critical omission from Bellator’s lineups for the reason that company got relief up and running: Fedor Emelianenko.

The legendary faded longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion turned 44 in September. Sooner than the worldwide coronavirus pandemic hit, Bellator president Scott Coker had talked about a “farewell tour” for Emelianenko, who has two fights left on his contract, earlier than he calls it a day.

And while the company has efficiently resumed operations in a bubble atmosphere, now we come by yet to gaze the return of “The Final Emperor,” in phase, because this isn’t how Coker desires to gaze the legendary fighter exit.

“I basically wanted Fedor to war his retirement war no longer in front of apt the officers and come by the team and be on a closed atmosphere in a bubble,” Coker no longer too long prior to now told MMA Junkie. “I basically want Fedor to take care of out his occupation in front of 30,000 other folks in Moscow, to be correct, Bellator MMA’s first war in Russia. Enact a war in Moscow. For him, the prodigal son has returned. Fedor is basically the most intelligent fighter of all-time, and he’s now coming dwelling to retire and put his gloves up and hang it up to retire.”

Vaccines are coming online around grand of the developed world, lending hope the pandemic will soon be in the help of us and life will resume relief at something corresponding to normalcy. So at this level, Coker believes it’s finest to take care of off and offers Fedor the form of sendoff he deserves – ideally at dwelling in Russia for the company’s debut occasion in the nation.

“I’m hoping that the vaccine will delivery fixing the ache and we can delivery bringing in crowds,” Coker said. “But to me, I have we’ve waited so long for Fedor to war, hoping that the pandemic would skinny out, and now that it’s getting shut and I will gaze gentle at the head of the tunnel for the pandemic to transfer away, I basically wish to wait and to compose these fights in a correct stadium, in particular the one we compose in Moscow. I wish to compose something very gargantuan for him, because to me, it’s appreciate he’s the king, and the king is strolling again from the battlefield.”

This sort of mutter may perhaps be no longer apt a farewell to Emelianenko, nonetheless a showcase for the Russian expertise Bellator has amassed.

“No longer fully would he war, nonetheless all the guys that now we come by, appreciate (gentle heavyweight champion Vadim) Nemkov and appreciate (Anatoly) Tokov and all those huge opponents from Moscow that are struggling with for Bellator, they’re going to also war on the card, and we’ll compose perhaps a ‘Russia vs. the realm’ match there and also you’ll gaze some opponents from Europe,” Coker said. “We’ll come by a huge occasion.”