Fedor's Camp Talking Up June 26 Bout With Fabricio Werdum

Everyone who follows mixed martial arts should know by now that any fight featuring Fedor Emelianenko is subject to being rescheduled, but Fedor's people in Russia are talking up June 26 as the date that he'll return to the cage to fight Fabricio Werdum in San Jose on a card promoted by Strikeforce and Fedor's M-1 Global.

Fedor himself doesn't say much publicly, instead letting his manager Vadim Finkelchtein do his negotiating for him. And Finkelchtein has indicated to the Russian media that the long-awaited fight with Werdum really will happen on June 26.

Fedor was the subject of a story on the Russian web site bel.ru, and based on what I can figure out from Google Translate and this translation at Bloody Elbow, the article says something like this:

Fedor Emelianenko to fight Brazilian Fabricio Werdum
Fedor Emelianenko's fight with Fabricio Werdum is scheduled for June 26 in the U.S. city of San Jose in a fight card organized by M-1 Global and Strikeforce.

The 33-year old Brazilian Werdum has 12 wins, four losses and one draw. Werdum is four inches taller and six pounds heavier than Fedor, and on the same night that Fedor knocked out Brett Rogers, Werdum won a three-round decision over fellow Brazilian Antonio Silva.

M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein commented on negotiations with Strikeforce and Showtime, on organizing a large fight card.

"From our side there is no contradiction. Fedor already started to prepare for a fight June 26 in San Jose. We also reached an agreement that the fight card will be able to include some of the fighters from the M-1," Finkelchtein said on the M-1 Global web site.

On Saturday, May 1, Emelianenko received the blessings from the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Kirill Belgorod, when the head of the Russian Orthodox Church visited Belgorod, where Stary Oskol is located.

So Fedor's management wants us all to be ready to see him fight Werdum on June 26. Fedor fans have been disappointed before, but all indications are that the fight may finally be close to getting scheduled.