Fedor Emelianenko has an opponent for his homecoming bout.
The former PRIDE champion makes his return against recent interim title challenger Tim Johnson at the upcoming Bellator Moscow event scheduled for Oct. 23 at VTB Arena.
Bellator officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday following a report from Russian outlet TASS.
Considered arguably the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history, Emelianenko will compete for the first time since 2019 when he earned a first-round TKO against ex-UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Overall, Emelianenko has gone 3-1 in his past four fights with his only loss coming to current Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.
Prior to that setback, Emelianenko secured wins over Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir in the first two rounds of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Now he’ll return for a showdown against Johnson, who sports a similar 3-1 record in his past four fights.
Johnson took out Tyrell Fortune, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo en route to an interim heavyweight title fight back in June where he ultimately lost a decision to Valentin Moldavsky, a protégé of Emelianenko’s from Russia.
The American travels into enemy territory to face off with Emelianenko in a highly anticipated event as Bellator lands in Moscow for the first time ever.
The Bellator Moscow card will air on Showtime in the United States.