It wasn’t a deal breaker or anything like that, but Matt Mitrione mentioned the name Fedor Emelianenko during his contract talks with Bellator last year. If Emelianenko was going to be fighting for the promotion, Mitrione wanted a piece of he legendary heavyweight.
“That was one of my initial requests when I came over,” Mitrione said during a media scrum last month in Los Angeles before Bellator 170. “I said, ‘If Fedor ever gets back to fighting, I want to be his first fight.’ It was something I openly petitioned for.”
Emelianenko has won both fights since coming out of retirement, against arguably subpar competition.