Fedor rules out possible fight with JDS, condemns sanctions against Russian MMA athletes

For the time being, a cross-promotion super fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Junior dos Santos seems to be off the table. While speaking for Bellator CEO Scott Coker, Fedor recently shut down the prospect.

This happened because dos Santos lost his Eagle FC debut against Yorgen de Castro. During a recent interview with Russian media behemoth Okko, the 45-year-old Emelianenko said:

“A meeting was planned with [Bellator president] Scott Coker. But, as I understand it, Scott and I are not interested in this fight with Junior dos Santos. First of all, because of the defeat of the latter [dos Santos].”

However, if Junior Dos Santos made a good debut in the promotion, Eagle FC president Khabib Nurmagomedov was hoping for a cross-promotion match between Junior dos Santos and Fedor Emelianenko. While Scott Coker looked to be intrigued, dos Santos was defeated by TKO in the third round after dislocating his shoulder.

Nurmagomedov isn’t giving up on the mega-fight, though. Dos Santos seemed to be in terrific condition until his dislocated shoulder pushed him out.

He said,”I think it’s still viable. Because even if he lost, Junior looked amazing. Everybody see tonight, he’s improved a lot and he was looking amazing. And I think it’s still interesting.”

On the other hand, Fedor Emelianenko also spoke out against the IMMAF’s latest penalties on Russian athletes in the same interview with Okko.

In light of the current Russo-Ukrainian hostilities, the IMMAF banned the Russian MMA Union (RMMAU) on March 1. They banned it after receiving recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Sports, according to Fedor, should be kept apart from politics. Emelianenko, on the other hand, believes that the nations would “come to their senses” once they see Russia’s role in sports.

“They will understand that without Russia they can’t get anywhere.”