Why Bellator isn’t signing Fedor
Scott Coker: “Let’s let him come back and see how it works out for him, and then maybe we’ll have him fight a couple years down the line, or next year, or whatever.”
Fedor Emelianenko, the greatest heavyweight in MMA history, is returning. There are multiple reports that he is in negotiations with the UFC, and a general belief that he will end up there. ‘The Last Emperor’ had a long and by all accounts positive relationship with Strikeforce founder and current Bellator MMA founder Scott Coker, which would seem to make the world’s #2 league a natural destination.
Coker explains why not.
We’ve had conversations, but not about fighting, said Coker to Matt Erickson and John Morgan for MMAjunkie, ahead of Friday’s Bellator 141. I just felt Fedor is a great legend. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of MMA. We had a great time doing the fights together with Fedor (in Strikeforce) … I felt like we’ve done it already with Fedor.
We’ve got a great roster and a great thing going. When he comes back into the market, I feel like he’s going to come back for three or four years. He’s not going to come back for one fight. And he is coming back – for sure. … But I’m not sure where he’s going – if he’s close to signing with the UFC, I hear rumors of this and that. I haven’t asked him.
Let’s let him come back and see how it works out for him, and then maybe we’ll have him fight a couple years down the line, or next year, or whatever. The door is open, but I felt like at this point, Bellator is kind of on a little bit of a roll here. Would he add a lot of value? Yes. But we’re just going to sit back and see what happens.
Fedor has not fought since 2012, and went out on a three-fight win streak, over Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii, and Pedro Rizzo.
