Fedor Emelianenko has his opponent for Bellator Moscow and he's a capable veteran in his own right.
On Thursday, Bellator announced that the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history will face Tim Johnson in the main event of Bellator Moscow at VTB Arena on Oct. 23.
"The Last Emperor" is coming off a first-round drubbing of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in December 2019. Prior to that, he suffered a 35-second TKO at the hands of Ryan Bader in January of the same year. With 30 of his 39 victories coming by the way of stoppage, the 44-year-old Emelianenko (39-6, 1 No Contest) will look to notch his 40th professional victory in front of his Russian fans.
Opposite of the cage will be the 36-year-old Johnson (15-7), who had his three-fight winning streak in 2020 snapped by Team Fedor's Valentin Moldavsky by unanimous decision in June. That bout was for the interim heavyweight title. Prior to that, he had produced first-round finishes of Tyrell Fortune and Matt Mitrione, before edging Cheick Kongo by split-decision.
Emelianenko had previously shared his excitement about headlining Bellator's first-ever event in Moscow.
"The Russian fans are very excited for Bellator to come to Moscow," he said in June. "We have a lot of fans worldwide and the fans are just as excited to see Bellator as the fighters are excited to show their skills in a Russian arena."