Retired MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko surprised fans recently, when he announced that he may come out of retirement. Furthermore, there's talk of him finally joining the UFC.
Vadim Finkelchtein, Fedor's manager, tells MMAWeekly.com that he was caught off guard, as much as the fans, by the sudden change of heart.
"I was surprised. I lost the hope to make him (come) back after one or two years of negotiations. I just couldn't make it," he said. "One time he asked me not to talk about this any more. But about a week ago, he told me that he might come back. I couldn't believe what I heard."
While it's unclear where he'll land, Fedor could potentially enter the Octagon with the UFC, despite the past bad blood between the organization and his camp.
Both sides were in negotiations to bring Fedor to the UFC, back when Brock Lesnar sat atop the UFC heavyweight division. They wanted to have the two face off in a headlining event ... but negotiations failed and the relationship has been rocky ever since.
However, Finkelchtein says that's now in the past.
"I don't think that story can influence somehow Fedor's decision to choose UFC or any other MMA promotion. If they will make a good offer to him that will be good for himself, then he can accept this," he said in an interview with Submission Radio. "Also Bellator can make a better offer. So I don’t think that situation can influence it somehow."
"I think UFC have a big chance to sign Fedor," he continued. "It depends on what offer they will make. If Dana would not only talk, but do some things (and) will make a good offer to Fedor, they have a big chance then."
Fabrício Werdum is currently the UFC's Heavyweight champ, after defeating Cain Velasquez by submission in June. Other heavyhitters in the divison are Junior Dos Santos, Travis Browne, Andrei Arlovski, and Stipe Miocic, to name a few.
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