The legendary mixed martial arts fighter Fedor Emelianenko over the years of performances has repeatedly thought about ending his career. The next “completion” of the fighting path should take place in February at the Bellator tournament.

The Last Emperor has made big statements about this in the past, but each time he returned to MMA. One of these comebacks happened just on New Year’s Eve, when the Russian had his first fight after an almost three-year break.

Destroyed a two-meter thug in the first round!

“I think it’s time for me to leave”

In 2012, the Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko for the first time seriously thought about ending his career. The last, as it seemed then, for the Last Emperor was the confrontation with the Brazilian Pedro Rizzu. Fedor won by knockout in the first round and immediately after the fight announced his retirement.

– Every time I promised my wife that this fight would be my last, but every time I had to deceive her. This time I really decided to stop. I think it’s time for me to leave. I spent most of my life in the ring – now it’s time to spend time with my family, – the Izvestia edition quotes the words of the athlete.

But Fedor did not succeed in finally retiring. He continued to keep fit, and in the summer of 2015 he unexpectedly announced a return to mixed martial arts.

For a long time there were various rumors about possible options for continuing a career. Both the UFC and Bellator were called, but Emelianenko chose the new Japanese promotion Rizin FF. Perhaps the choice was influenced by connections with former PRIDE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.

Opponent Fedor was picked up by a qualified one – he was 28-year-old Jaideep Singh. The Indian at that time had only two fights in mixed martial arts, in which he won. But the 198 cm fighter had a huge experience in kickboxing, where he became the champion of the Asian Grand Prix. Also, the athlete had a resounding victory over Sergey Kharitonov under the rules of K-1.

Photo: © Etsuo Hara / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“He’s much faster than I imagined”

The duel was held according to special rules. The duration of the first round was 10 minutes, and the second and third segments were half as long. Elbow strikes to the head during wrestling on the ground were also prohibited.

Fedor understood perfectly well that the opponent was good at exchanging blows. From the very first seconds of the fight, he tried to transfer the fight to the floor of the ring, but Singh easily fought off the first attempt. In addition, the Indian got the opponent with a series of punches on the way out.

But the very next entry brought Emelianenko the desired result. This time, Fedor did not get close to his opponent. First, he dealt him several heavy blows, after which he carried out a spectacular takedown.

Jaydeep was not destined to rise to his feet. Fedor took an advantageous position from above, from which he began to brutally beat his opponent. Already in the fourth minute, Singh could not stand the hail of blows and passed out. The judge frankly missed this moment. As a result, the Indian received several more blows from Fedor without defending himself.

Photo: © Etsuo Hara / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I could do anything. I had no idea what he was going to do. He’s the kind of fighter that won’t let you attack. In addition, he is much faster than I imagined, it surprised me very much, ”Singh spoke about the reasons for the defeat.

Initially, Emelianenko planned to continue performing at Rizin FF, but he did not have a relationship with the Japanese promotion. As a result, Fedor moved to Bellator, where he plans to once again end his career in a fight with Ryan Bader. The date of the fight has not yet been determined.