It seems as though Fedor Emelianenko has a new opponent for New Year’s Eve and it won’t be Jaideep Singh as originally rumored. Instead “The Last Emperor” is likely to meet someone he is very familiar with.
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka is set to be the man to lock horns with Fedor at Rizin FF on New Year’s Eve in the main event of the card. Kohsaka and Fedor have history having already competed twice with each holding a win over the other so the fight with serve as a rubber match and complete the trilogy.
Whilst Fedor hasn’t competed in MMA since a win over Pedro Rizzo in June 2012, his opponent Kohsaka last fought way back in May 2006, suffering a stoppage loss to current UFC Heavyweight Mark Hunt.
The first meeting of Fedor and Kohsaka took place back on 22nd December 2000 and #WHOATV have got the video of the original clash below for your enjoyment.
Tony’s Thoughts
Well I must admit in first hearing this news which was announced by Inside MMA I was pleased because the thought of Fedor Vs Singh was just soul destroying in my eyes and completely done nothing for Fedor’s legacy. Will a fight with Kohsaka improve his legacy? The answer is no but at least there is an angle they can work with given the fact these guys both have a win over each other.
The main disappointment is obviously that they are bringing in a guy who hasn’t fought for nearly 10 years while they had a queue of credible, active guys sticking their hands up to get in the mix to welcome Fedor back. Does anyone seriously think that Kohsaka will be able to shake that much ring rust off and perform like his former self?
I genuinely prefer this one to the Singh fight and it is likely that Kohsaka will draw a bigger crowd in his home country than Singh, but lets be honest Fedor will be the main draw against whoever they put him in there with.