Fedor Emelianenko: I'll be fighting this Summer

Mixed Martial Arts legend Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko declared he will return to the Strikeforce cage this summer, against a currently unknown opponent. Speaking at the premiere of "The Salamander Key" movie in Moscow, Russia, Emelianenko seemed in a quite positive mood:

"This Sunday I'll fly out to Holland to have a two-week training camp. Then, I'll return back home to Stariy Oskol to continue my preparations. I'm going to fight this summer. I still don't know who will be my opponent, but it's something currently in works. I didn't train abroad since 2005. We have a really good relationship with Muay Thai coaches in Holland, so I'm really looking forward to this training camp.

I would like to thank everyone for their support. But at the end it's God's will, and we have to accept it as it is. I will continue to compete, train hard and do everything in my power to get a victory.

Reporter: You are not retiring?

Fedor: No way.

http://www.lowkick.com/UFC/Fedor-Emelianenko-Ill-be-fighting-this-Summer-12273

Unlikely to be against Hendo unfortunately.

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MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko is unlikely to fight current Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, according to CEO Scott Coker.

Henderson got his hands on the light-heavyweight belt after knocking out Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. He has made repeated calls to take on Emelianenko, but Strikeforce chief Coker feels Henderson might be "a little bit small" to face the heavyweight.

Emelianenko weighed in at 230 pounds for his last fight against Antonio Silva, while Henderson cuts hardly any weight to make his 205-pound divisional limit.

"I'm thinking the weight difference might be too much," Coker told MMA Fighting. "Can that gap be bridged? I'm not sure. But I know Dan will fight anybody. He'll fight anybody in a fight booth. It doesn't matter to him."

Emelianenko will return in the summer, when he will attempt to bounce back from two straight defeats. Coker said: "Fedor will fight in July or August at some point. They'll get everything that's promised to them. Nothing's really changed. Those promotions will happen. Fedor will fight."

Fedor Emelianenko had some people worried last month when he declared he might retire immediately after getting his face bashed in by Big Foot Silva (watch the video, see the pictures). Luckily that talk didn’t last long — we had heard Fedor was interested in fighting in a Russian sambo event but decided against it. No doubt he needed time to heal from his injuries and get back to his senses. That has happened, and the good news is we’ll be seeing Fedor in the Octagon before too long.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker revealed to Sherdog’s Beatdown radio show that “Fedor’s gonna fight sometime in July.” Coker continued “It’s probably toward the end of July or mid-July, but we have fights with Fedor that we’re gonna honor and continue forward.”

Coker also added that Fedor may be used as an alternate for the Heavyweight Grand Prix in which he already was defeated by Silva. Sergei Kharitonov beat Andrei Arlovski in the other quarterfinal, but the other side of the tournament has yet to begin.

The big question is who Emelianenko will fight next, but at this point we have more questions than answers. As always, we’ll have to stay tuned to see the latest developments, but I wouldn’t be wild about seeing Fedor fight another super-sized heavyweight. Who knows? Maybe the Fedor-Dan Henderson fight may actually happen

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Bit annoyed that he's still adamant Fedor will get an alternate spot and a lifeline back into the tournament. Load of shit and very unfair if you ask me, it's not like they need him in the tournament for ratings, especially now Zuffa are in control!

Axe, what the hell is that Avatar!!!!

My boy Brock


Have you ever noticed your avatar doesn't work mate?

'we’ll be seeing Fedor in the Octagon before too long'

-my heart skipped a beat when I read that bit