The long wait is over. Fedor Emelianenko is back in the Strikeforce fold as the promotion has finally, officially announced his return. As expected, Emelianenko will face Fabricio Werdum on June 26.Emelianenko was last seen in a Strikeforce cage last November, when he knocked out Brett Rogers. Soon afterward, however, his M-1 management team decided to re-work his deal, knocking the Russian star out of a proposed April CBS date.
Sources close to the re-negotiations told MMA Fighting last month that one of the key issues surrounding the deal involved co-promotional issues between the two companies.
While fan frustration mounted, both sides worked towards an agreement, and last month, MMA Fighting reported that a new deal was close to being finalized.
"Fedor wants to fight as soon as possible," a source told MMA Fighting then.
In recent days, speculation began to heat up that M-1 and Strikeforce were nearing a re-worked agreement, and Emelianenko's manager Vadim Finkelchtein even indicated to the Russian media that the Werdum fight had indeed been scheduled.
Emelianenko, who is considered by many to be the best heavyweight in the world, has a 32-1 record with one no contest. He has a 28-fight unbeaten streak and hasn't lost since Dec. 2000. Werdum, meanwhile, is 13-4-1 and is the winner of two straight, most recently defeating Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in Nov. 2009.
The June 26 Strikeforce and M-1 co-promoted show will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and air on Showtime. The press release heralding Emelianenko's return gave no indication as to what terms of his deal, if any, had been amended.
.fanhouseButton {margin:2em 0;} .fanhouseButton a:link, .fanhouseButton a:visited, .fanhouseButton a:hover, .fanhouseButton a:active {background-color:#dd2829;color:#FFFFFF;font-size:18px;padding:0.3em 0.6em;text-decoration:none;} .fanhouseButton a:hover {background-color:#000000;}
Get the latest gear
