5 Possible opponents for Fedor Emelianenko's final fight
Fedor Emelianenko is one of the greatest fighters of all-time. Bellator president Scott Coker will have some decisions to make as the former PRIDE heavyweight champion’s career soon concludes. 'The Last Emperor' has defeated some of the sport’s top heavyweights and, during his prime, he was arguably the world's most dominant fighter.
Fedor Emelianenko’s 10-year winning streak saw him defeat former champions and future UFC Hall of Famers. Some of Emelianenko’s notable victories include Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Andrei Arlovski, and Mark Coleman.
Emelianenko fought No.3-ranked Bellator heavyweight Tim Johnson in the main event of Bellator 269 in his home country, Russia. In typical Fedor fashion, he defeated Johnson by knockout at 1:46 of the first round.
Following the bout, there was talk that Emelianenko now has one final fight on his Bellator contract. The promotion has plenty of options for his final opponent and it’ll be interesting to see who they select. This list will look at 5 possible opponents for Fedor Emelianenko’s final fight.
#5. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett
Kicking-off this list of possible opponents for Fedor Emelianenko’s final fight is Josh Barnett. A bout between Barnett and Emelianenko was originally scheduled to headline Affliction: Trilogy back in 2009. However, Barnett ended up failing a drug test 11 days prior to the fight. As a result, the event ended up being canceled and the company shifted its focus to clothing instead.
When both Barnett and Emelianenko were competing in Strikeforce, there was an opportunity to book the fight. Unfortunately the bout never came to fruition and has since become a missed opportunity.
Now that Josh Barnett signed with #Bellator, it’s time to finally make the fight that killed Affliction: Barnett vs Fedor Emelianenko. https://t.co/3N8ISsDxVH
During his career, Barnett accomplished a great deal of success and fought in the top promotions in the world. Some of Barnett’s accomplishments include being a Pancrase openweight champion, Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix finalist, and UFC heavyweight champion.
Barnett, 43, hasn’t competed since his win over Andrei Arlovski on a UFC Fight Night card in 2016. Barnett signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator in 2019, but never wound up making his debut.
Josh Barnett returns to #MMA for the first time in three years to fight Ronny Markes in the #Bellator235 main event. Barnett says his two goals are to defeat Ryan Bader for the #Bellator heavyweight title & to battle Fedor Emelianenko.
Source, MMA JUNKIE: mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2019/12/josh-b… https://t.co/UcBUGtSINE
At this stage of both men’s careers, it would be interesting to see how the fight would play out. Emelianenko would have the clear advantage in the striking department, especially in stand-up. However, Barnett has the ability to catch Emelianenko with a submission should the fight go to the ground.