Last night, seemingly out of nowhere, Fedor revealed his plans of a comeback into MMA. When debating who is the greatest of all time Fedor’s name is a constant. It hasn’t been revealed which promotion he will join but Bellator would be an obvious choice seeing as he has a good relationship with them – having been a brand ambassador recently for them. Not to mention having fought under Scott Coker in the past.
Here are a number awesome fights for ‘The Last Emperor’ when he makes his return, and to cover all angles I will be offering matchups from Bellator, UFC and independent.
BELLATOR-
Kimbo Slice: who wouldn’t like to see Kimbo vs. Fedor? This would be the perfect re-introduction fight for the Russian and it would generate a ridiculous amount of interest, even more so than Kimbo’s recent contest against Ken Shamrock, and with more interest comes more money.
Bobby Lashley: speaking of big interest fights; a fight between former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko would be BIG. It would also be the closest to Fedor vs. Brock we could possibly get.
James Thompson: this would be a fantastic and nostalgic return to the old school Pride days. Thompson fought Fedor’s brother just over ten years ago and this fight just screams ‘fun’.
Tito Ortiz: Pride legend vs. UFC legend, Bellator might see this as the perfect fight to make regardless of whether Ortiz wins the light heavyweight title or not. It is also a fight I believe could be competitive and entertaining.
Randy Couture: this is a long shot, but you would be silly to think that Coker wouldn’t consider this fight, especially after Shamrock just fought Kimbo. Couture made it no secret in the past that his desire was to fight Fedor and the UFC couldn’t make it happen. Couture is 52 and Fedor is 38 but I don’t think age would deter this fight or even the fans from watching this.
UFC-
Mirko ‘Cro Cop’: the pair fought 10 years ago and Fedor walked away with the decision in what was voted ‘fight of the year.’ Now would be a great time for the pair to rematch, especially now that Cro Cop legitimised himself again with a recent win over Gonzaga.
Fabricio Werdum: in 2010 Werdum shocked the world and became known as the man who stopped Fedor. The Brazilian was the first fighter in 10 years and almost 30 fights to stop him. This fight would be massive but only after Fedor gets a win again.
Josh Barnett: the two were in Pride at the same time, but somehow never fought each other. The two are undeniable legends of the sport and it would be a special moment seeing them compete against one another.
INDEPENDANT- (Russia or Japan)
Sergei Kharitonov: like Barnett, these two never fought each other while in Pride. The big Russian did fight Fedor’s brother however. Kharitonov has a name and would be exactly the type of opponent he would (or should) face upon his return.
Ikuhisa Minowa: aka ‘Minowaman,’ because why not?