Fedor Emelianenko

By FCF Staff

At a time when criticism is mounting that the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s busy schedule has spread its roster too thin, the promotion’s president Dana White is reportedly gauging fan interest in a bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar.

In a post that’s been attributed to White, the executive asked fans on The Underground MMA forum to start a thread asking whether “this (is) the fight u guys want to see?” According to the site, the thread has received over 1700 replies in one day.

Of course, Fedor Emelianenko retired from the sport recently, following the 35 year-old-legend’s knockout of Pedro Rizzo in June. When the Russian fighter announced his retirement, however, he reportedly didn’t outright dismiss competing in another high profile bout.

The 35 year-old Lesnar said he was leaving the sport after he was quickly stopped by Alistair Overeem last December. Earlier in the year rumors circulated that the pro wrestler might be interested in returning to the UFC, however, White reported that meetings with Lesnar hadn’t gone well.

Naturally, just because White has teased fans by asking the question, doesn’t mean that the promoter is serious about trying to put the fight together. It also doesn’t mean, particularly considering his turbulent relationship with Fedor’s management, that signing the fight is even possible.

At the end of the day, however, there’s little doubt that the bout could be a huge PPV attraction for the UFC, at a time when critics have questioned whether the promotion’s dramatic growth has stalled.