Fedor Emelianenko will continue to compete in MMA, quashing reports that he was set to retire following his third straight loss.
Long time heavyweight kingpin ‘The Last Emperor’ went undefeated for a decade before suffering three shocking losses, being finished in all three bouts.
Emelianenko had been very vague and non-committal when asked about his future after these losses and also having speculated previously that he did not have much time left in the sport and could retire.
However, Vadim Finkelstein President and co-founder M-1 Global has confirmed that Fedor will not hang up the gloves and will fight on.
In a statement issued by M-1 he said: “We consulted with Fedor and it was decided that he should not leave the sport in this way. His friends and past opponents support Fedor in continuing his career and he agreed.
“We want to organise a fight for Fedor in Russia and have already begun working in this direction. If everything goes as planned, we will produce a card in Moscow or St. Petersburg sometime in the fall with Fedor as the main event.
“If all is successful, in 2012 we’ll be back in the U.S. All these ideas are being developed right now and we want to work exactly according to this plan.”
Although circumstances conspired to keep Alistair Overeem and Fedor from facing each other throughout their entire tenure in Strikeforce, but now with both fighters no longer affiliated with the organisation it may no be possible.
[Main picture courtesy of Larry Burton via Wikimedia Commons]
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
