At Saturday’s Bellator 290, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko enters the cage for the last time, to face heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.
Bellator President Scott Coker recently revealed that after the 47-year-old heavyweights retirement fight, there will be a sendoff ceremony including some of the sport’s biggest names, like Royce Gracie, Rampage Jackson, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell.
“All these legends of the sport that really are the roots and the foundation of MMA started calling and we said, look, this is a very special occasion. We’re going to have all these O.G.s, legends from the days that really built MMA,” Coker said on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour.
”Fedor is The Last Emperor, and this is his last stand, and all these gentlemen will go into the cage as Fedor is probably saying his speech and he’s going to retire and they’re going to stand behind him and when Fedor gets up from putting his gloves down, they’re all going to be there to congratulate him.”