Fedor Emelianenko Returns on New Year’s Eve to Fight For Brand New Promotion in Japan

Fedor Emelianenko is 38-years-old and has not fought in over three years but the mere mention of his name is still enough to get the pulse of most MMA fans racing. On New Year's Eve the Russian heavyweight will return at a new promotion being started by former Pride president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.

Further details about the comeback of 'The Last Emperor' are currently thin on the ground. The event will take place in Tokyo and is being broadcast in the US by Spike, although possibly not live. We still don't know who Emelianenko is fighting or what the new promotion will be called.

Emelianenko (34-4-0-1) was widely regarded as being the best heavyweight in the world during a period when he won the Pride heavyweight Grand Prix and beat the likes of Mirko Filipović, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mark Hunt while fighting for the now defunct Japanese promotion.

After the Zuffa buyout of Pride Emelianenko fought twice for Affliction beating former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. It made him the most sought after free agent in the MMA world but negotiations between his management and the UFC broke down and Emelianenko instead signed with Strikeforce.

Things got off to a good start when Emelianenko stopped Brett Rogers on his promotional debut in 2009 but it would be his only win for Strikeforce. His only previous loss came in 2004, and was caused by a pre-existing cut, so it sent shockwaves through the MMA when the Russian was stopped by three straight opponents.

In 2010 current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum submitted him and the following year both Antônio Silva and Dan Henderson stopped Emelianenko with strikes, the latter in a 220 lbs catchweight contest.

Emelianenko did bounce back to beat Jeff Monson fighting for M-1, Satoshi Ishii at a Dream event and Pedro Rizzo in what was advertised as his retirement fight. Rumours of a comeback began circulating at the start of the year and in July his management confirmed that 'Fedor' would be returning to MMA.

This sparked intense speculation that Emelianenko might finally sign with the UFC but at a Bellator event in San Jose last weekend the surprise news was revealed. Sakakibara has been out of the MMA game since Zuffa acquired Pride in 2007 but it seems that the famous Japanese promoter and the heavyweight legend will be making their comebacks together.

A press release was sent out containing sparse information other than the following quote from Spike President Kevin Kay,

"We are thrilled to join forces with Nobuyuki Sakakibara and our partner Bellator President Scott Coker to give MMA fans a big reason to celebrate this New Year's Eve - Fedor fighting FREE on Spike!"

This would raise the intriguing possibility of Emelianenko being matched with one of Bellator's top heavyweights like Cheick Kongo or Tony Johnson Jnr. A fight with the organization's current champion Vitaly Minakov is out of the question as he and Emelianenko have recently trained together.

The question for MMA fans is whether, at the age of 39, Emelianenko will be able to recapture the form which once made him the most feared fighter on the planet? There will also be plenty of interest in Sakakibara's new project and whether it can succeed in replicating the sort of wild popularity which Pride enjoyed during its heyday.