Bellator's management has confirmed that it is working on organizing a duel between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar.
The head of the promotion, Scott Cocker, said that he contacted the team of the American fighter and offered him to sign a contract to fight the legendary Russian.
If the parties manage to reach an agreement, then viewers will finally be able to see one of the most anticipated fights in the history of mixed martial arts.
As you know, Emelianenko has two fights left under the current contract with Bellator.
Initially, the agreement was designed for three battles, the first of which took place on December 28, 2019 in Japan.
The Last Emperor knocked out Quinton Rampage Jackson and successfully began his farewell tour.
The other two battles were supposed to take place during 2020, but the plans were confused by the pandemic.
Because of this, Fyodor's return to the octagon was delayed and until now it is not clear when it will happen.
The promotion does not intend to put on a show with his participation in front of empty stands and lose a solid profit from ticket sales, so he has to wait for the development of the situation with the coronavirus.
Unsurprisingly, such circumstances have dealt a serious blow to the level of excitement around Emelianenko's tour.
After the victory over Jackson, many fans looked with enthusiasm at the final stage of the fighter's career and were looking forward to the announcement of the next fight, but now everything has noticeably calmed down.
In this regard, even rumors about a possible meeting with Lesnar can seriously stir up interest in Fyodor's person.
Lesnar was once again in the spotlight of mixed martial arts fans on August 31, when his contract with the largest wrestling promotion on the planet WWE expired.
Speculations about Brock's possible return to MMA appeared in the media outright, while joining Bellator was named as a priority option.
Cocker has never been shy about arranging confrontations between veterans, which he has repeatedly confirmed in recent years.
Suffice it to recall the battle at that time between 49-year-old Royce Gracie and 52-year-old Ken Shamrock in February 2016.
It is noteworthy that it was in that year that Lesnar entered the cage for the last time.
He took part in the 200th anniversary UFC tournament, which had an incredible number of stars on its card.
Anderson Silva, Daniel Cormier, TJ Dillashaw, Jose Aldo, Amanda Nunez and others performed that evening.
Brock defeated Mark Hunt, but later the battle was declared invalid.
The reason for this was the doping found in the body of the ex-champion of the Absolute Fighting Championship.
It is worth noting that despite the absence of performances in the past four years and accusations of taking illegal drugs, Lesnar remained in the same demand in MMA.
The reason lies in his stellar status, numerous merits and immense popularity in the world of wrestling.
If in Russia this type of entertainment has not yet managed to take root, then in the United States it has long enjoyed the status of a cult.
In the spring of 2020, it was recognized as a "significant business" at all, thanks to which promotions such as WWE and AEW could hold tournaments even in the midst of a pandemic.
Brock has worked in the industry for 15 years and has become one of the most award-winning athletes in history.
His career in mixed martial arts turned out to be much shorter, but quite bright.
In four years, he fought eight battles, won five victories and suffered three defeats.
By the standards of the average fighter, the track record is more than modest.
Nevertheless, a year and a half after his debut in sports, he became the champion of the UFC and subsequently his fight with Frank Mir led the organization's 100th tournament.
After the victory, Lesnar became a real MMA star and began to be regarded as one of the strongest heavyweights on the planet.
True, he was far from the status of the first number in his division, because Emelianenko played in it.
It was then that the duel between Fedor and Brok first became widely discussed in the world of martial arts.
Dana White personally admitted that he was extremely interested in conducting this fight and subsequently repeatedly regretted that the plans could not be implemented.
According to him, he had high hopes for her and was determined to fight at the stadium of the NFL "Dallas Cowboys", now called AT&T Stadium.
Its capacity is 80 thousand spectators, but can be increased to 105 thousand.
But then negotiations on the duel between Emelianenko and Lesnar failed.
According to one version, the Russian side was allegedly not satisfied with the proposal of the American organization, according to the other, Vadim Finkelstein insisted that tournaments with Fedor's participation be held jointly by the UFC and M-1 Global.
Subsequently, Dana White spoke rather harshly about the former manager of the Last Emperor and called him guilty of disrupting the battle.
“You think I hate Fedor.
In fact, this is not the case.
His management ... These guys ... are the most screwed up in the history of all sports.
We flew there to organize a fight between Brock Lesnar and Fyodor Emelianenko for very, very big money.
And I have already told you and will repeat again that they laughed in response to our proposal.
If you ask him, he will lie, but then I told them this ... I said then - not to Fedor, but to Vadim - that he (Fedor -
RT
) was one stroke away from being worthless.
We made a generous offer, ”White admitted.
According to the head of the UFC, Finkelstein had the opportunity to contribute to one of the largest fights in the history of mixed martial arts, but did not do it and made a gross mistake.
“In the business world and in life in general, circumstances are constantly changing, and as a result, the stars converge in such a way that you are given the opportunity of this fight, mega-fight.
They developed so that the duel between Fedor and Brok could take place.
We were one step away from him.
You cannot laugh at such moments - you must take this chance.
But he did not use it.
They thought they were too tough, cunning and funny guys, ”concluded White.
Thus, Bellator can do what the UFC failed to do and have one of the most high-profile fights in its history.
Of course, now the battle between Emelianenko and Lesnar will no longer produce the effect that would have been guaranteed in 2010.
At that time, Brock owned the title of champion of the largest promotion, and Fedor had not lost for ten years and was considered the strongest fighter on the planet.
Nevertheless, Bellator is able to squeeze very serious dividends out of this.
Especially if you consider it in terms of the level of promotion.
After all, despite all the efforts, Cocker has not yet managed to create a serious competitor for the MMA flagship.
His organization, although one of the largest, is significantly inferior to the UFC.
This is noticeable in the number of signed fighters and tournaments held, as well as the income they generate.
The fight between Emelianenko and Lesnar is capable of providing at least a short-term sharp increase in Bellator's popularity and help to collect a record box office in its entire history.
After all, the promotion has never arranged a fight before and is closely comparable in status to the UFC.
According to Tapology data, the 120th tournament held in 2014 continues to hold the record for the sale of paid broadcasts.
Then 100 thousand people paid for the opportunity to watch the battle between Quinton Jackson and Muhammad Laval.
Compared to the championship, these figures are extremely small.
So, the broadcast of the UFC 229 show with the participation of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor was acquired by 2.4 million fans.
At the moment, there are several obstacles on the way to the fight.
The main one is that Lesnar may not even think about returning to MMA.
It is possible that the athlete wants to continue his career in wrestling, and took a break to get a more lucrative contract from WWE.
Despite all the difficulties of this profession, in the ring Brock is much less at risk of health than in the octagon.
And with the exclusive sparing schedule, it can perform for years to come.
Also, don't forget Lesnar's doping problems.
His physical form always seemed unnatural and raised serious questions back in 2007-2011, but he was first caught only in 2016.
Yes, the suspension period expired long ago, but the athlete's appearance has not changed at all.
Brock still looks huge and powerful.
This suggests that he may well continue to use illegal drugs.
All this can prevent him from returning to MMA, because fighters have been tested for a long time in the United States.
Do not forget about the financial component.
In this regard, Bellator is unlikely to be able to adequately compete not only with the WWE, but also with the UFC.
If White finds out about Lesnar's intention to return, he is unlikely to want to give such an asset to competitors and will probably be able to make a better offer.
And the experience of joint cooperation will certainly become an additional factor.
As for Fedor, for him, a victory over Brock would be the perfect end to a brilliant career.
At the moment, it is difficult to imagine a more suitable opponent for the last fight.
Yes, a rematch with Fabricio Werdum would be quite an interesting scenario, but it would hardly be so big an event.
The same applies to a possible return fight with Ryan Bader, who recently lost to Vadim Nemkov.
The American is not only much better known, but also fits into the history of the Russian, famous for his triumphs over opponents superior in size.
However, the organization of the battle with Lesnar will surely force Emelianenko to make adjustments to the schedule of his farewell tour.
Initially, he wanted to end his career in Moscow, but arranging this fight in Russia is hardly possible and certainly less logical than in the United States.
There it will bring much more benefit, both Bellator and Fedor.
Defeating the UFC star on his turf will definitely be a spectacular point worthy of the Last Emperor.