Fedor reveals Putin's concern about his return to MMA

Fedor (left) and Putin (right) are long-time friends

In this year, Fedor Emelianenko made the courageous decision to leave his MMA retirement and return to fighting. Despite his desire, the legendary Russian heavyweight stated that he sought to hear the opinion of family and friends on the matter, but one figure in particular expressed concern: the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

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Fedor and Putin are long-time friends, as the politician has been a martial arts practitioner for decades. In an interview with the Russian website “RSport”, Emelianenko stated that Putin spoke about his return.

“It is very important for me to have the support of my family, and only with their consent did I return. Of course, I had to convince them. I consulted different people about this. Some were happy, others asked why come back. They reacted differently, but basically I saw that they supported my decision. I spoke to Putin and he said he would be worried, but he wished me luck”, explained the legendary fighter, PRIDE heavyweight champion last decade.

The Russian will fight on December 31st, at the Japanese Rizin FF event, organized by former PRIDE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. His opponent has not yet been officially confirmed.