Emelianenko (photo via Bellator / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

20202 is going to come and go without seeing Fedor Emelianenko compete. But, Bellator President Scott Coker says the plan is to have the legend fight in 2021, “no matter what”.

The 44-year-old heavyweight was expected to fight this past year, as part of his retirement tour. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bellator was forced to postpone numerous cards earlier in 2020. Emelianenko (39-6) hasn’t fought since December, 2019, when he stopped ‘Rampage’ Jackson.

While speaking to the media recently, Coker had this to report, while discussing the Russian star (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“He calls me all the time and says, ‘When am I going to fight?,’” Coker said. “And problem is, we’d really like him to fight when there’s an audience available. But that can be challenging, too. So we’ll have to make a decision here pretty soon, and trying to get some of the visas for his fighters has been a little bit tough during this transition period. So we’ll wait and see how that all unfolds, and then we’ll make a decision on when he’ll fight. But he’s going to fight in 2021 for sure, no matter what, because he has to fight and he’s got to keep going.”

Emelianenko has gone 3-2 to date, while competing for Bellator. The legend is expected to fight two more times before retiring.