Emelianenko in Bellator: the pursuit of money or sports interest? Cro Cop hints at a fight with Emelianenko. Filippovich signed a contract with Bellator Who Fedor will fight
Decided to continue his career in the American promotion Bellator.
On Sunday it became known that the famous Russian MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko signed a contract with the promotional company Bellator. His fight with Matt Mitrione will be held February 18, 2017 in San Jose. The fact that Emelianenko ended up in Bellator, and not, say, in the UFC, is not too surprising. Fedor is already 40 years old, and at such a veteran age it is extremely difficult to sign a contract with the UFC: the organization has recently had a policy of “rejuvenating” fighters. The same 38-year-old Matt Mitrione played in the UFC for many years, and in 2016 he moved to Bellator. And contrary to popular belief, on average, the fees of fighters in Bellator are higher than in the UFC.
EMELYANENKO OFFERED IDEAL CONDITIONS AND MONEY
duel against Fabio Maldonado this summer, the Russian won by a decision that caused a lot of controversy. Many noted that Emelianenko's victory was given unfairly. International Federation mixed martial arts(WMMAA), conducted an expert assessment and proposed to change the decision on the fight. The MMA Union of Russia, which is headed by Emelianenko himself, did not change anything. That match with Maldonado was hosted by the Fight Nights promotion.
A good offer was received from Bellator, but I think it's not only about finances, - the president of Fight Nights explained the decision to Emelianenko Kamil Hajiyev. - Fedor also received a very good and interesting candidate for an opponent. Mitrione arranged it, February is convenient for him, and he is certainly burning with the desire to fight in the USA. As for Emelianenko's ability to compete in other promotions, given the scale of his personality, I think that his contract is probably not designed for a very long period and the number of fights. I do not rule out that he can generally fight in other promotions. Nevertheless, if Fedor has a good relationship with Bellator, I think he will continue to play in this organization. The organization is interested in holding Fedor's fights in the USA, and not in Russia. Yes, and Emelianenko himself is not averse to fighting in America.
According to long-lived Bellator Vitaly Minakov, who has been playing in the promotion since 2012, managed to become a champion and knows the internal kitchen of the organization well, Emelianenko first of all received a good financial offer:
Fedor is now in such a position that everyone wants to see him in their promotion and offer amounts that they can pull. Apparently Bellator suggested best conditions. Bellator has good resources for this, especially given the fact that the promotion is owned by America's richest media company, Viacom.
MITRION - THE LAST EXAM FOR EMELYANENKO
However, according to Minakova, the future rival of Emelianenko, Matt Mitrione, also played an important role in signing the contract:
Fedor wants to fight strong opponents and he himself is still in good shape. The fact that his recent fight against Maldonado was not easy does not mean that he should be written off. If there hadn't been that unfortunate missed blow at the beginning of the meeting, it is not known how the fight would have ended. I think that Fedor would deal with Maldonado quickly. As for his positions in Bellator, we will soon find out. Fedor got a really serious opponent. Mitrione is a good puncher, who won almost all of his victories ahead of schedule. So he is a very serious opposition for any fighter. Maldonado is a pure striker, boxer. He has strengths, but many weaknesses. We saw how in the last fight Misha Mokhnatkin simply left him no chance. Matt Mitrione, in turn, is a generalist. Knows how to beat and fight. Versatility is the most important quality in MMA. The same Emelianenko always defeated his rivals due to his versatility.
Another Russian Bellator fighter has a similar opinion. Alexander Shlemenko. In his opinion, the duel with Mitrion will be a real test for Emelianenko, after which it will become clear what he is really capable of:
Bellator can offer him much more serious opponents than anyone else, because the strongest fighters are signed either in Bellator or in the UFC. Mitrion - his first opponent in the organization - is definitely a step forward in Fedor's career. He is stronger and more experienced than Fabio Maldonado. Mitrione is a real heavyweight who has defeated many serious fighters. He will be a real test for Fedor. The fight will show the real strength of Emelianenko and it will be possible to assume whether he is able to fight for the championship belt of the organization. In addition, Fedor will definitely earn more in America than in Russia.
The signing of a contract with Fedor Emelianenko was announced at the Bellator 165 tournament. According to announcer Sean Grande, who announced the agreement, the contract with Emelianenko was signed for several fights, but he did not disclose the exact number of fights prescribed in the contract between the parties. As the Russian himself did not declassify this.
“I have known Scott Cocker for a long time and Bellator in general. I have been a guest several times. Here are some of the best fighters. Grateful for the opportunity to speak here. The contract between us is concluded for several fights. And I will try my best, ”Emelianenko said at a press conference dedicated to the signing of the agreement.
Emelianenko, 40, is considered one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. Fedor became the PRIDE champion during the heyday of Japanese promotion, defeating almost all the top opponents of that time - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filippovich, Mark Hunt, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman and many others.
In the list of Bellator fighters, he became the fifth representative of Russia. In addition to Fedor, under the auspices of this organization in this moment Sergey Kharitonov, Vitaly Minakov, Alexander Shlemenko and Andrey Koreshkov perform.
- sherdog.com
Emelianenko Sr. will hold his first fight in the United States since 2011 as part of the Bellator 172 tournament, which will be held on February 18 in San Jose. The Last Emperor will face former UFC fighter 38-year-old Matt Mitrione.
The former NFL (American Football League) player played in the UFC from 2009 to 2016, from where he was fired after losing to Travis Brown and Ben Rothwell. After moving to Bellator, Mitrione scored two stoppage victories in June and July. At the moment, the American has 11 triumphs with 5 defeats in his career. He is in the top 20 heavyweight fighters.
“Everyone knows who he is. It is a great honor for me to meet him. Welcome to the family, Fedor! I treat him with great respect. An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime. We'll put on a good show," Carwin said after the fight was officially announced.
Emelianenko, after resuming his career, also won two victories. In the first fight after a three-year pause in his career, the Russian defeated Jaideep Singh from India, and then defeated former UFC light heavyweight Brazilian Fabio Maldonado on points.
A few weeks ago, Fedor Emelianenko announced on his Instagram account that the next fight was announced, but the opponent was not determined. Earlier, the media reported on a possible meeting of Emelianenko with another former champion UFC in heavyweight Shane Carwin, who resumed his career after a five-year hiatus. The 41-year-old American, who has 12 wins and two losses, signed a contract with the Japanese promotion Rizin, in which Fedor also performed.
In his Twitter microblog, Karvin said that he had agreed to a meeting with Emelianenko, but the camp of the Russian fighter refused.
“I agreed to fight Fedor,” wrote Karvin. He probably won't fight again. I met with Rizin representatives and they have a great offer but nothing signed yet,” he wrote.
Carvin's debut is scheduled for December 29 as part of the New Year's show. On November 15, his former Strikeforce opponent Antonio Silva also announced his desire to fight Fedor. In 2011, Silva struck Russian fighter defeat, but since then his career has gone downhill. The Brazilian, after defeating Fedor, had 13 fights, of which he won only three. In his last fight On November 18 in Yekaterinburg, 37-year-old Silva lost on points to Russian heavyweight Ivan Shtyrkov.
As for the fight Emelianenko - Mitrion, negotiations about it began immediately after the failure of the deal for the fight with Karvin at the end of October.
Ivan Slavinsky
But also their own fans. The fact is that fans are used to seeing Fedor in fights with the strongest, and therefore still dreamed of signing him to the UFC.
Singh And Maldonado- obviously not the rivals that the Russian public was waiting for, although the latter delivered to Fedor real problems. However, at the age of 40, a fighter may well have other priorities than winning the title of "king of the hill", and he will choose those conditions that are more comfortable for him.
And in general, Fedor has already achieved so much in sports that he, like the hero of the song “Klava, you are not Gagarin”, without exaggeration, everything is possible. For Russian MMA, he became his Gagarin, who brought the sport into space orbit. Without him, there would be no prime-time MMA tournaments, dozens of Russians in the UFC, and growing competition within the country every year. Now Fedor no longer needs to prove anything. He can both end his career and perform for his own pleasure anywhere and with anyone, even if they are freak fights with Bob Sapp. Does it not live up to your expectations? So watch the fights Conor McGregor.
Some sofa-keyboard warriors therefore did not believe in the battle between Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione, an insider about which was leaked to the American media a month ago. Say,
Fedor has already achieved so much in sports that he, like the hero of the song “Klava, you are not Gagarin”, without exaggeration, everything is possible.
Fedor will again choose some kind of bag in Russia or Japan, and will no longer go into a competitive environment. Russian colleagues hastened to refute the information only on the basis that the leadership did not confirm it. Well, until both fighters sign the contract for the fight, it will not be made public, which does not cancel the very fact of negotiations. The presentation of the Last Emperor took place during the Sabbath. Fedor appeared on the platform in the same striped sweater that became a legend for American fans, and to the Era tune that made him the king of PRIDE. The reaction of the American public showed that Fedor is still loved and expected there.
Why
In this case, the choice of Emelianenko is not just explainable, but looks as logical as possible. First, Fedor with the president of the company Scott Cocker have been friends since the days when he headed Strikeforce. Secondly, the era of new stars is now coming to the UFC, which are pulling ever larger contracts from the organization, and therefore Fedor would not have been able to pull out of the new owners an offer comparable to the conditions of the stars of the first magnitude.
Cocker's company does not want to become the second division of MMA in its purest form, but is trying to offer the viewer an alternative product, even if the fights of freaks and veterans from a sports point of view sometimes look not in the best way.
For the same reason, negotiations with Georges St-Pierre stalled, and, if not for his remaining contractual obligations, he would have long since become a part of.
Cocker's company does not want to become the second division of MMA in its purest form, but is trying to offer the viewer an alternative product, even if the fights of freaks and veterans from a sports point of view sometimes look not the best way. However, more and more dissatisfied top fighters are choosing . Here and Ben Henderson, And Rory McDonald And Phil Davis, whom no one kicked out of the UFC, and at the time of leaving they were firmly in the top ten. Finally, the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions are now strong enough to offer the now-age legend some worthy competition.
Why Mitrione
Emelianenko's contract was signed for several fights at once, but already in the first of them he chose one of the organization's best heavyweights, who today is even higher in the rating than himself. Remember when Fedor went into battle as an underdog. Former player to American football and a UFC veteran today is 38 years old. He won 11 out of 16 professional fights, but they all took place in the fierce competition of the two best American leagues. Mitrion is large, powerful, which has recently caused a lot of problems for Emelianenko, who has lost speed, and at the same time he feels good in the stance.
Potentially, the fight could be a Rogers-Henderson-Maldonado-style mega fight with a completely unpredictable outcome, and I would rate the chances in it as 50/50. Mitrione has never defeated top fighters in his career, but he has always been on the watershed line between real tops and those who are on the way, but have not yet deserved to be ranked among the elite. In the case of Fedor, he is able to appreciate the relevance of the legend in modern MMA. If Emelianenko passes it, then there is still gunpowder in the flasks and he is capable of fighting the best.
Mitrion is large, powerful, which has recently caused a lot of problems for Emelianenko, who lost his speed.The battle will end with a crushing victory for Mitrion, we will have to admit that the time of our Fedor is gone.
Who else
But for now, let's not think about the worst and imagine an option in which Fedor wins or at least has a close fight with the American. In this case, of course, there will be a point in other heavyweight fights. Another UFC veteran comes to mind first. Sheikha of the Congo, who at 41 is still fine and has won seven of his nine fights. There is still dangerous because of his youth Tony Johnson who signed the leave Alexander Volkov, and a British former strongman Oli Thompson. However, there is an option with subtle trolling. For example, show Sergei Kharitonov, who scoffed a lot about the fight between Fedor and Maldonado, how it was necessary to act with Javi Ayala.
Circle potential rivals Fedor is not limited to one heavy division. His small weight for this category (about 105 kg) is quite comparable with the mass of light heavyweights without weight cut, and therefore in potential fights with MMA legends of this category Quinton Jackson, Tito Ortiz And Chael Sonnen Fedor would not look bigger than his opponents. All of them, like Fedor, belong to the so-called veteran category, but still have armies of fans and are popular enough in the US to create a massive blockbuster. Therefore, we can say with confidence that until the end of Emelianenko's career, he is provided with rivals.
43-year-old Croatian heavyweight Mirko Filippovich, nicknamed Crocop (Croatian policeman, if anyone did not know) on his page on one social network hinted that he had signed a contract with an American promotion.
No, this is not the UFC. This is Bellator, led by Scott Cocker. Filipovich posted the logo of the American promotion in his account and after some time this information was confirmed. Mirko will face Roy Nelson at Bellator 200 in London on May 25th.
Why does Cro Cop need this?
In 2005, Mirko was one of the coolest fighters on the planet and fought in the strongest Pride league in Japan at that time. There he met with Russian Fedor Emelianenko and lost by unanimous decision. That fight is still remembered by MMA fans, calling it one of the best in history. Cro Cop was the first-class striker in the division, Fedor was the best wrestler. But Emelianenko practically did not include elements of the struggle in that battle, defeating Filippovich with his own weapons - Fedor completely interrupted the Croat in the standing position, which caused a lot of noise not only in Japan, but also abroad. Since then, Filippovich has been dreaming of revenge with the Last Emperor. He has already announced the end of his career twice, but he always returned. Mirko wants to finally hang up his gloves on a nail after the fight with Fedor.
Is it real?
The chances that we will see a rematch between Emelianenko and Filippovich are small. Fedor is now 41 years old and he is preparing for the quarterfinal match of the Bellator Grand Prix against the American Frank Mir. Russian athlete has already hinted that he will soon complete sports career. And he wants to do it in the American promotion. If he beats Mir, he will make it to the semi-finals. If he comes out victorious in a fight against Chela Sonenna, then he will have a final. And that's at least another year. If Fedor becomes the winner of the G-8 tournament, then, most likely, he will immediately end his career on a positive note.
However, there is an option that Emelianenko will lose to the World. He won't want to end MMA on that note. There are already more chances for a duel with Cro Cop.
Which Crocop is now?
Filippovich made his MMA debut in 2001. At the moment, he has 36 wins, 11 losses and two draws.
Recently, Mirko fights infrequently - once every 12 months. For the last two years he has fought in Japan on New Year's Eve. Before 2017, he became the winner of the Rizin Grand Prix, defeating Mohammed Laval, Kaido Houvelson and Amir Aldiakbari. Before 2018, Mirko knocked out 47-year-old Japanese Tzuyoshi Kosaku.
He completed the last eight fights in his favor. The last time he failed at the Legend tournament was when he lost by choke to Alexei Oleinik.
Now the Croatian is no longer as fast as ten years ago. This is understandable, time takes its toll. But it cannot be said that the strength of his blow has waned. On the contrary, Filippovich added in size - if he arrives from him, it will not seem small.
For a 43-year-old fighter, he looks good. And if the fight against Fedor Emelianenko still takes place, it will be a real gift for old-school MMA fans. However, such an event will not attract a full house and will not bring much money to Bellator. Today, young people have completely different idols.
