Bellator, RIZIN To Announce Historic December Show
One of Fedor Emelianenko’s last fights will be taking place on a historic card to end 2019. Bellator MMA sent out a press release, announcing an “emergency” press conference this Wednesday in Tokyo. It is expected the promotion will be heading to Japan to work with RIZIN for an event.
Scheduled for the presser will be Bellator President Scott Coker, RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Fedor. Sakakibara broke the news on Instagram this past Monday regarding a cross-promotional event between both promotions on December 29th. A location for the event has yet to be determined.
“Bellator will be coming to Japan to put on a historical event on December 29th! We will host an emergency press conference with Bellator president Scott Coker and Fedor Emelianenko! We hope to be able to deliver exciting news so please make sure to come out and experience the press conference!”
Coker has been teasing a Japan trip for Bellator for quite some time. Talks especially heated up following a series of matches with Kyoji Horiguchi and Darrion Caldwell, in which the former beat Caldwell to become the Bellator Bantamweight Champion. He is hoping Ryan Bader will be able to fight for the Heavyweight Championship over there, potentially making him a three-weight champion.
As for Fedor (38-6, 1NC), an opponent is expected to be announced at the press conference. He last fought in January, losing to Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals. Several opponents that have been talked about for the bout in December include Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and recently-signed Josh Barnett.