Mark J. Rebilas – US Presswire
Legendary heavyweight mixed martial artist Fedor Emelianenko announced his retirement from competition this past June. Of course, many of his fans were disappointed to learn that they would never again be able to watch the man often simply known as “Fedor” strike fear into the hearts of his opponents with his trademark blend of quiet politeness before the bell and wild aggression after it.
Now it appears that they may get that chance again after all. Emelianenko’s official Facebook page put up a post asking fans, “Would you like for Fedor to step into the ring once again?” Not surprisingly, by far the most popular response was in the affirmative.
Emelianenko may be the most popular fighter to never compete in the UFC. Talk of his return from retirement is sure to lead to speculation about the possibility that his management and UFC president Dana White would finally come to an agreement. Those hoping to see this take place have been continually disappointed in the past, with each side blaming the other for their failure to sign a deal.
Fedor’s record stood at 34-4-1 when he retired. He was undefeated for much of his career, including a 27-fight streak that saw him best such iconic fighters as Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman and Andrei Arlovski. Much of his career took place in the now-defunct Pride organization in Japan. After he began competing in the United States in Strikeforce, he hit an unusual skid in which he was finished in three fights in a row by Fabricio Werdum, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Dan Henderson. However, after he left Strikeforce to resume overseas competition, he returned to his winning ways, ending his career on a three-fight win streak.
