Fedor Emelianenko almost had a different opponent at Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve event.
World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo, who owns a 2-2 MMA record and has extensive professional kickboxing experience, says that he was offered the fight against the Russian a little more than a month before the card. However, Sefo turned it down, citing a lack of time to prepare for a bout against “The Last Emperor.”
“The opportunity to fight him was actually offered to me, I think five weeks out from the actual New Year’s Eve fight,” Sefo wrote on WSOF.