Fedor Emelianenko, retired all-time MMA great

By Michael Hatamoto

UFC President Dana White actively tried to bring Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC, but was unable to bring the former PRIDE superstar to the No. 1 MMA promotion.

White recently spoke with MMAjunkie.com, when he expressed his regret:

“Obviously, I would have loved to make that fight with him and Brock at that point in time.  But it obviously didn’t happen.  I have nothing against Fedor whatsoever.  He’s definitely got some hardcore fans, man. I mean the guy can get knocked out four times in a row, and they still think he’s the [expletive] greatest ever.  I don’t hate the guy.  There’s definitely no hate at all for Fedor. It was always his management. Anytime you ever heard me talk, it was about ‘Vadummy’ or the guys who managed his career.  But I have nothing against Fedor.”

It’s interesting to hear White discuss his disappointment in not being able to sign Fedor to the UFC.  Hardcore MMA fans would have greatly enjoyed seeing Fedor compete against the best fighters in the world, even though that wasn’t able to happen.

Fedor recently smashed Pedro Rizzo and announced his retirement following the fight – ending his legendary MMA career.