Fedor Emelianenko Returns to Ring on June 21 in Russia

Fedor Emelianenko Returns to Ring on June 21 in Russia, Opponent To Be Announced

It seems “The Last Emperor” has his next fight booked.

M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan announced Friday that Fedor Emelianenko will return to the ring on June 21 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Kogan also teased that Emelianenko’s opponent would be announced at a later time.

While Kogan did not release specifics regarding the June 21 event, it is expected to be held under the M-1 banner. First, however, the Russian promotion will hold M-1 Challenge 32 on May 16 at the Crocus Expo in Moscow. While a main event has yet to be officially announced, that event will feature a lightweight title bout between Daniel Weichel and Yuri Ivlev as well as an appearance from Aleksander Emelianenko against a to-be-named foe.

The elder Emelianenko earned a pair of wins to close out last year after suffering an unprecedented three consecutive losses. Previously regarded as the world’s top heavyweight, Emelianenko, 35, was finished by Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson in the Strikeforce cage before receiving his promotional release.

Following those defeats, Emelianenko responded with a unanimous decision victory over former UFC title challenger Jeff Monson this past November. Most recently, the Russian earned a first-round knockout over Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii at Dream's New Year's Eve show in Saitama, Japan.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Fedor-Emelianenko-Returns-to-Ring-on-June-21-in-Russia-Opponent-To-Be-Announced-41651

It will be interesting to see who it is. I think before they said he would fight 2-3 times this year, so he will have a pretty busy 6 months the last half of the year. Maybe he can fight someone like Babalu, and it would be awesome to see him vs Kharitonov on NYE for a title somewhere.

Appears to be Lashley.

The ring is were Fedor belongs. Lashley would be alright, I mean he´s undefeated except for the Griggs fight. The ref fucked up in the Griggs fight when he stood the fighters up when Lashley was on top, great comeback for Griggs but Lashley dominated the fight until he gassed.

Where did the Lashley thing come from? I have seen a lot of people throwing that out but I don't know why or where it originated. I don't think Lashley would get Fedor much props but he has been training with Barnett so I expect him to be tougher this time around (and I heard he looked better last fight).

Overall not a fantastic match up but Lashley was a wrestling champ and has a 7-1 record, and there aren't to many other guys out there so if it's the match they make, I'll be watching.

gay if lashley but whatever I guess.

Emelianenko-Dos Santos at UFC 146? Unlikely with possible Lashley bout on June 21

It appears Fedor Emelianenko has gone from long shot to no shot for UFC 146's expected main-event vacancy.

M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan today announced Emelianenko will fight an unannounced opponent at a currently unspecified June 21 event.

However, sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that former WWE star and ex-Strikeforce fighter Bobby Lashley (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is under consideration for the Emelianenko (33-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fight.

Following Alistair Overeem's (36-11 MMA, 1-0 UFC) recently failed drug test and his now-unlikely status for a UFC 146 title fight with heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (14-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC), Emelianenko's name was one of a few discussed as a possible replacement.

With the UFC 146 pay-per-view event slated for Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26, that essentially rules out the possibility of Emelianenko.

Then again, Emelianenko was a long shot anyway; UFC officials and the fighter's M-1 management have often butted heads. Past contract negotiations failed, and following Zuffa LLC/UFC's purchase of Strikeforce in early 2011, Emelianenko ultimately left the organization after he fulfilled the terms of his contract with consecutive losses to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson.

Since then, Emelianenko, a former PRIDE champion who once won 27 consecutive fights (with one no-contest), has competed overseas, where he picked up wins over Jeff Monson and Satoshi Ishii in late 2011. Lashley, meanwhile, most recently competed in November, when he won the Shark Fights heavyweight belt with a submission win over Karl Knothe.

In addition to Emelianenko, fans have launched social-media campaigns for PRIDE and UFC vet Mark Hunt to take the slot that's expected to be vacated by Overeem, who failed a surprise drug test this past month after registering a 14:1 T/E ratio, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Ex-champ Frank Mir is now a leading candidate to get the title fight.

According to Kogan, the June 21 event with Emelianenko, which is expected to be an M-1 show, takes place at the Ice Palace in St Petersburg, Russia.

^Thanks. I'd rather see him fight Pedro Rizzo. Follow that up with Babalu and Kharitonov to close out the year.

ZuffaKiller wrote:Emelianenko-Dos Santos at UFC 146? Unlikely with possible Lashley bout on June 21

Corrected.

It should read, JDS goes to M-1 Global to fight the best of the best. The GOAT Fedor versus challenger JDS, M-1 Global at the Ice Palace, Petersburg, Russia.

monaroCountry wrote:

ZuffaKiller wrote:Emelianenko-Dos Santos at UFC 146? Unlikely with possible Lashley bout on June 21

Corrected.

It should read, JDS goes to M-1 Global to fight the best of the best. The GOAT Fedor versus challenger JDS, M-1 Global at the Ice Palace, Petersburg, Russia.

Everything would be awesome if the fighters had non-exclusive contracts and were allowed to fight anywhere anytime they wanted.

Lashley is another juiced pig waiting to test positive 16:1, send him back to WWE and give Fedor a WORTHY opponent damnit

RussianTopTeam wrote:Lashley is another juiced pig waiting to test positive 16:1, send him back to WWE and give Fedor a WORTHY opponent damnit

I agree and 2nd this notion.

Fedor vs. Konrad, Guram, Kharitonov, Malikov, or Grabowski would all be sweet.