Two significant new developments have arisen regarding the Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes. The biggest free agent in MMA may be close to signing.
UFC announcement on Fedor imminent?
Coker withdraws from Fedor sweepstakes, Bigfoot hinting at “exciting news”
First, buried behind the story that Fedor would be joining Kazushi Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock at a Bellator fan event, was the revelation that Bellator is not currently in negotiations with Emelianenko and that his “price tag doesn’t make sense as a pure television product.” For more coverage of why Bellator and Fedor do not make sense financially, you can take a look at our earlier article by clicking here.
The second tidbit comes from one of the only currently unsigned opponents who make sense for Emelianko’s UFC debut.
I'm very excited, news coming up.
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) August 17, 2015
With it being reported that Emelianko is already in training camp, and the list of the most likely candidates for “The Last Emperor’s” debut, including Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir and Dan Henderson, with newly announced bout agreements, one name is consciously absent – Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Considering Bellator’s withdrawal from the sweepstakes and Bigfoot Silva’s comments on Twitter, we appear to be hours or days from an official announcement from Zuffa.
Main Photo Credit:
Main Photo Caption: NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 08: Russian mixed martial artist Fedor Emelianenko and Brazilian mixed martial artist Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva attend the Strikeforce World Grand Prix fan day at Roseland Ballroom on February 8, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)
