Bellator president Scott Coker expects Fedor Emelianenko to fight again early next year

The legend Fedor Emelianenko scored a first-round knockout over No. 2 ranked Bellator heavyweight contender Tim Johnson in the Bellator 269 main event on Saturday.

At 45-years old, Emelianenko is far removed from his prime when he was the Pride FC champion and widely considered the best heavyweight in the world. But he just took out a highly ranked contender in the heavyweight division.

With one fight left on his current Bellator MMA contract, Emelianenko didn’t say whether he plans on taking another fight or stepping away from competition on the high note of scoring a first-round knockout in his nation’s capital city.

Bellator president Scott Coker seemed confident that Emelianenko would at least fight out his contract.

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“We have scheduled one more fight for him, but I know him. I don’t know. He looked really good. He beat our No. 2 or No. 3 contender, but let him enjoy the victory and let him really savor this thing and then we’ll revisit with him in maybe a month,” Coker said during the virtual Bellator 269 post-fight press conference.

Coker believes Emelianenko will fight again early next year of spring 2022.

“I think the next thing we have we’ll probably schedule it for early next year, or maybe spring of next year, and that’s when you’ll see Fedor fighting again,” Coker said.