Fans who’ve been waiting to hear news of Fedor Emelianenko’s first fight back after a three year absence on New Years Eve are almost certain to be underwhelmed by the opponent that’s currently believed to be getting lined up for him.
According to MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani Fedor is expected to face Jaideep Singh at the as-yet untitled show, and if you don’t recognize his name then we don’t blame you as the 28 year-old Indian / Japanese kickboxer has just one MMA bout on his record, dating back to 2013.
To be fair Singh does have an extensive kickboxing background with a 40-10 (+1nc) record overall, but he’s only fought three times in the sport in the past three years and lost each time.
Widely considered to be one of the best MMA fighters of all time, the 39 year-old Emelianenko had indicated that he wanted a tune-up fight to shake off the cobwebs after being retired for a number of years, but this is just farcical stuff.
Meanwhile, former PRIDE boss Obuyuki Sakakibara, who’s the mastermind behind this new Japanese promotion has shot down reports that Fedor is being paid $2.5 million for the event, stating that it’s “absolutely not true.”
Sakakibara is expected to official unveil Fedor’s oppponent on Thursday along with other news about the show including finally revealing what the new promotion is actually going to be called.
The promotion have linked up with Bellator, so expect to see some familiar faces from their roster on the line-up and the event will also air live on Spike TV.
