In a possible retirement fight, Fedor Emelianenko faces Tim Johnson at Bellator 269

F.Emelianenko will face T. Johnson in the main fight of UFC 269 Photo: Instagram_Bellator

October 23, 2021. We're still not sure, but this date has everything to be historic for mixed martial arts. The main fight of Bellator 269 this Saturday (23) could be the last as a professional for the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, The Russian veteran will face North American Timothy Johnson in a duel valid for the heavyweight division (up to 120,2kg). The event will be held at the VTB Arena in Moscow (RUS)

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Fedor makes weight and confirms fight that could seal his farewell to MMA at Bellator 269

Almost two years after his last fight, Fedor returns to Bellator's circular cage for what could be his farewell fight from MMA. Former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion and professional since 2000, the Russian is going into the 46th fight of his career. The ”Last Emperor' has a record of 39 triumphs and six setbacks in the sport.

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Recently defeated by Valentin Moldavsky in the interim heavyweight title fight, Timothy Johnson is looking to get back on the winning path. Before the defeat to the Russian, the 36-year-old fighter had been enjoying three consecutive victories in the company. The North American scores 15 positive results and seven negative results in the sport.

There's a former champion in action

Heavyweight champion between 2013 and 2014, Vitaly Minakov to the circular cage after more than three years of inactivity. In recent years, the 36-year-old fighter has been involved in several controversies with the organization and repeated injury problems. His last fight was in August 2019, when he knocked out Tim Johnson at Bellator 225. The Russian fighter has a record of 22 wins and just one setback.

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Minakov's rival, the American Said Sowma, is going for his second fight of the 2021 season. In July of this year, the heavyweight beat Brazilian Ronny Markes by knockout in the first round. The fighter has seven triumphs and two setbacks in the sport.

Khabib's cousin returns to action

Lightweight division prospectus, Usman Nurmagomedov, cousin of former UFC champion Khabb, is going for his third fight in 2021. The duel, which will take place at catchweight (up to 72 kg), will be against Finnish Patrik Pietilä. A professional since 2017, the Russian is undefeated in MMA with 13 consecutive victories.

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With an irregular record of 11 wins and eight losses and three years of inactivity, Patrik Pietilä will have the difficult task of stopping the driven Russian. His last fight took place in September 2019, when he was defeated by Ryan Roddy, in a unanimous decision by the judges.