As the calendar turns to 2021, the ramping up of the COVID-19 vaccine leads to hope there’s a light at the end of the tunnel to enable the world to resume normal activities.
This includes the fight game. Bellator resumed operations in a bubble over the second half of the year, but it has done so without legendary Russian star Fedor Emelianenko.
Company president Scott Coker recently explained to MMA Junkie this has been intentional: Emelianenko has talked about finishing his career with a flourish, and Coker doesn’t want this to go down in an empty-arena atmosphere. He went so far as to hint that the former longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion could have his last tango in the promotion’s first card in Russia.
So who should be on the other side of the cage for Fedor’s final fight? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Danny Segura, and Simon Samano weighed in during this week’s episode.
We won’t give spoilers, but here are some clues: Interesting ideas include a former opponent, a former UFC heavyweight champion, an out-of-the-box non-heavyweight, and, in a Coker specialty, a cross-promotional fight.
You can watch in the video above.