The Last Emperor
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If Fedor Emelianenko doesn’t retire, he will likely be the number two ranked heavyweight in the promotion since he knocked out Tim Johnson in the first round of their match in Russia Saturday afternoon at Bellator 269.
It’s weird to see a 45-year-old fighter with the resume Emelianenko has and still pick up a win that can have him make a run for a title in what’s being called his “retirement tour” string of fights. In the post-fight press conference, Emelianenko didn’t seem to want to look past such a significant moment in his career.
When asked about the future, Emelianenko said through a translator, “It’s difficult to say, I think this is one of the most important wins of my career taking into consideration the location, the country (Russia), the age. Taking into consideration the force of Tim Johnson, who is a strong opponent.” He added “It’s difficult to answer the ‘what if’ questions. I would like to say that at this moment I’m not planning on finishing my career. I will talk to Scott Coker and my family.”
Before I started writing this edition of my newsletter, I did the Vlog I do every Sunday for MMANews and I said that if he decides to retire, I think we fans would all be cool with it. But, if he wants to see how far he can go in the landscape of Bellator’s heavyweights, I’m cool with it too.
I don’t mind seeing a Pride FC champ still racking up wins in this day and age of MMA. Here are the results of the entire event:
BELLATOR MMA 269: FEDOR VS. JOHNSON MAIN CARD RESULTS
Fedor Emelianenko (40–6, 1 NC) def. №2 Tim Johnson (15–8) via KO at 1:46 of round one
№8 Said Sowma (8–2) def. Vitaly Minakov (22–2) via TKO at 3:08 of round three
№6 Usman Nurmagomedov (14–0) def. Patrik Pietila (11–9) via submission (RNC) at 4:06 of round one
Anatoly Tokov (30–2) def. Sharaf Davlatmurodov (18–4–1) via split decision (29–28, 29–28, 28–29)
BELLATOR MMA 269: FEDOR VS. JOHNSON PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS:
Kirill Sidelnikov (13–6) def. Rab Truesdale (10–8–1) via TKO at 2:01 of round one
Katarzyna Sadura (5–4) def. Darina Mazdyuk (4–2) via TKO at 3:17 of round two
Irina Alekseeva (4–1) def. Stephanie Page (5–3) via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
Nikita Mikhailov (8–1) def. Brian Moore (14–8) via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Alexey Shurkevich (13–4) def. Grachik Bozinyan (11–5) via KO at 2:25 of round one
Aiden Lee (10–5) def. Alexander Osetrov (8–3–1) via submission (RNC) at 3:41 of round one
