Fedor Emelianenko is at the final stage of his professional career in mixed martial arts. In 2020, the legendary MMA fighter was going to hold two final fights, and then hang gloves on a nail. However, these plans may be frustrated due to COVID-19 infection.
At the moment, almost all sporting events are suspended. But if the UFC is desperate to hold tournaments during the pandemic and even equips a “fighting island” for these purposes, then Bellator does not follow suit. Scott Cocker’s company has already announced the cancellation of a number of events, and the last “victim” of the coronavirus was the 244th show, scheduled for June 6th. Thus, the promotion made it clear that they do not want to risk the health of athletes.
Currently, only two tournaments appear on the Bellator calendar, both of which are scheduled for fall. October 3, the promotion intends to please fans from Dublin, and a week after that - from Milan. But taking into account the current situation, one should not exclude the possibility that in the future they can be canceled. European countries have suffered enormous damage due to the pandemic and may not be ready to hold sporting events again at this time of year.
In this regard, the question arises regarding the completion of the farewell tour of Emelianenko. The first duel of the Last Emperor in 2020 was to take place in the summer - autumn in Europe or the USA, but so far there are no guarantees that it will take place. At this point, it may still not be possible to conduct tournaments in the presence of spectators, which is an important aspect for Bellator. Unlike the UFC, Scott Cocker's promotion does not get enough profit from the sale of paid broadcasts (PPV), so he pays special attention to the sale of tickets. It is possible that precisely because of this, he is now not even trying to start the show.
In addition, the organization of the battle with the participation of Emelianenko requires not just the presence of fans. We need a platform that can accommodate everyone who wants to look at one of the last appearances of Fedor in a cage. In view of the popularity of the Russian athlete, Bellator may well rely on, if not record-breaking, then high ticket sales. In this regard, Milan is not suitable for this event, because the capacity of the Allianz Cloud arena is only 5420 spectators. Amphitheater 3Arena in Dublin is much larger (about 13 thousand), but also can hardly be considered an ideal option. At least because in Ireland their athletes enjoy particular success, and a Russian fight may not attract such attention.
Given the limited geography of the Bellator tournaments, options remain with London, Budapest and Tel Aviv, of which the latter stands out. At least because domestic athletes regularly perform there. In particular, this applies to representatives of the Fedor Team Vadim Nemkov and Kirill Sidelnikov, as well as Sergey Kharitonov, who visited Israel in November. But for now, it’s premature to say that the state will open its borders by fall and allow the promotion to arrange shows.
As for the United States, the fight there seems most likely from a marketing point of view. Bellator is expectedly more popular at home and is able to gather there a worthy audience for one of the final battles of Fedor. But it is not yet possible to guarantee a full return of sport to the country in the fall. The United States ranks first in the number of people infected with coronavirus, and so far the situation is not improving.
In this regard, the dates of the farewell tour of Emelianenko can at least move and stretch until the beginning of 2021. As Fedor himself recently said, he is ready for such a development of events, but the only question is whether his body will withstand. In the current conditions, he probably cannot train in the usual volume, therefore, he risks losing his form. This will force him to speed up preparations for the upcoming duel, which will increase the risk of injury. We must not forget that in September the fighter will celebrate his 44th birthday, and at this age the body is not always able to withstand previous loads.
Even if the upcoming fight Emelianenko manages to be held before the end of 2020, there are no guarantees that he will go according to his plan. At the end of December, Fedor was lucky to meet the frustrated Quinton Jackson in the cage, but whether his next gift is waiting is a big question. Until now, there have been no rumors about the future vis-a-vis Russian, but it is hardly worth believing that Bellator will set an opponent of a deliberately lower level against him. Such an event is unlikely to cause a general stir, and the company is clearly counting on it. Most likely he will meet either with another famous veteran such as Josh Barnett, or a rematch with Matt Mithrion.
If the next fight does not become an easy walk for him and ends not in his favor, the end of his career may occur earlier than the declared time. In case of failure, the battle in Moscow runs the risk of moving to the middle - the second half of 2021, which will be too late for the Last Emperor. Before the battle with Rampage, he himself said that the number of battles would depend on his state of health, therefore, he admitted that he might not work out the contract completely.
But you should not put an end to Emelianenko’s ability to complete the farewell tour in 2021 in advance. Of course, not many fighters can boast of having successfully performed at the age of 45, but there were still such examples. The most striking example is Randy Couture, who at that age held the belt of the UFC heavyweight champion. Subsequently, he successfully fought for two years, and ended his career at almost 48. In April 2011, he was knocked out by Lioto Machida and decided to leave the sport.
In January, another MMA veteran Tito Ortiz celebrated his 45th birthday. He was one of the most prominent representatives of sports in the 2000s and in many respects contributed to the popularization of mixed martial arts in the world. Until 2017, he fought at Bellator, and for the last two years he has been fighting in regional promotions. In the last two battles, he defeated another old-timer in the person of Chuck Liddell and the famous reseller Jose Alberto Rodriguez, acting under the pseudonym Alberto El Patron.