‘I’m very happy’ – Fedor Emelianenko retires surrounded by MMA legends following another first-round knockout loss against Ryan Bader at Bellator 290
Fedor Emelianenko stuck to his retirement pledge after suffering a first-round knockout loss in a fight billed as the last of his career.
The 46-year-old squared off against Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title at Bellator 290 but was unable to sign off with a fairy-tale win over the man who knocked him out when they first fought in 2019.
On Saturday, it was a similar story to their first fight as Bader landed a big shot early to send Emelianenko crashing to the canvas before following up with nasty ground and pound.
The fight was waved off midway through round one as it became clear that Emelianenko was taking unnecessary damage and was never going to escape from the perilous position he found himself in.
‘Darth’ retained his heavyweight title but took a backseat during the post-fight festivities as Emelianenko laid down his gloves to signify the end of his Hall of Fame fight career.
The Russian was joined in the cage by MMA legends Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Frank Shamrock, and Chael Sonnen.
They all cheered and applauded – along with the crowd – as Emelianenko confirmed during his post-fight interview that he was done with the sport.
He said: “On one side, I’m sad, of course, that I didn’t deliver in the fight like I wanted to.
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“But on the other, I’m so happy that all these people are here cheering for me, and all these veteran fighters that walked the path with me for almost the last 20 years are here to greet me. I’m very happy.
“I’m so happy to see all the fighters that are here to support me. Thank you so much.”
At the peak of his powers, Emelianenko became a champion with PRIDE and beat a whole host of heavyweight icons during his legendary 27-fight win streak.
Minotauro Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Mark Hunt Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski are just some of the fighters who fell to ‘The Last Emperor’ during his epic run of victories.
Emelianenko walks away from MMA as arguably the best heavyweight fighter of all time and one of the few legends of the sport to have never competed inside the UFC octagon.