Heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko was nearly part of Bellator 192, but surgery kept him off the card.
Bellator 192 may very well have been the promotion’s biggest show to date. While we won’t know for certain until the ratings come in, it was a landmark card for the promotion, with the second highest live attendance the promotion’s history, Bellator CEO Scott Coker unveiled at the post-fight press conference.
Among other news, a number of interesting tidbits came out in the wake of Bellator 192. That included an original plan to have the legendary Fedor Emelianenko on the card.
“Fedor had a little bit of a, nasal passage surgery, that he had in December” Coker said. “So he couldn’t fight in January. We wanted him to fight here, actually, and he wasn’t available.” Instead, Fedor will face Frank Mir in Chicago on April 28. That said, Coker assured that “we’re really excited about the year-long storyline.”
Emelianenko last fought at Bellator NYC in June, where he was finished by ex-UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione following a double knockdown. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak for ‘The Last Emperor.’ Both Emelianenko and Mitrone are now part of the Bellator World Heavyweight Grand Prix, though on opposite sides of the tournament bracket. For to pair to meet again, both would have to advance to the finals.
