Fedor Emelianenko once expressed the desire to have his retirement bout be for the title. Of course this was all prior to the 2022 political situation so the plans were scrapped pretty much as soon as the war had started.
That left Emelianenko in a tough spot with his age advancing. But another opportunity is looming on the horizon – the possibility of having PRIDE veterans Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva bid their farewell in Japan.
Anderson Silva has been preparing for his boxing date with Youtube phenom turned pro boxer Jake Paul. Silva had discussed the possibility of having a farewell MMA bout during the press tour for the event.
Signing off in Japan makes sense for Silva:
“Oh, you know, when I stopped doing my last fight in the UFC, I talked to Japan about doing my last fight there,” Silva continued.
“Because it completely makes sense, because I [started fighting] my professional career in Japan. My first title belt I took in Japan in Shooto. And yeah, maybe I want to fight in Japan. My last fight, you know, to prove my respect for the people in Japan, for my fans in Japan, too. And we’ll see. I don’t know.”
Per Ariel Helwani, Scott Coker called Anderson Silva’s rep a couple months ago and offered him a bout with Fedor Emelianenko. No real talks then but now that Silva said he wants one more MMA outing in Japan he is going to reach back out.
As for Fedor, it’s clear Moscow sign off that was initially planned was a nogo so this would actually be a good compromise and a good match up. Emelianenko is 45 years old, Silva is 47 year old. The biggest discrepancy seems to be their weight with Emelianenko being a heavyweight while Silva is considered a GOAT of the UFC Middleweight division.
Emelianenko was quoted saying that his retirement will likely take place in January of 2023 this past summer.
Emelianenko said during a recent press conference. “Most likely, we’ll see. It will take place next January.”
Scott Coker isn’t ruling out the possibility of it being against Ryan Bader.