World Series of Fighting heavyweight champion Blagoy Ivanov has a history with Fedor Emelianenko, and he’d like to write a new chapter with the legendary Russian sometime in the near future.
A 22-year-old Ivanov shocked “The Last Emperor” in the semifinals of the World Sambo Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia, in November 2008, avenging a loss to the pound-for-pound legend at Russia’s Presidents Cup Sambo competition earlier that year and paving the way for the Bulgarian to win gold with a finals victory over Germany’s Janosch Stefan.
When Ivanov signed with Bellator a few year later, his triumph over Emelianenko, who back in 2008 pretty much won at everything, became a public relations selling point for a promotion pushing an up-and-coming fighter.