Before winning his first world title, Terence Crawford had never fought in front of his hometown fans in Omaha, Nebraska. Now that he’s a two division world champion, Crawford has fought two of his last three fights at Omaha’s CenturyLink Center. On Saturday, it will be three out of his last four.

Crawford returns to the scene of his biggest victory when he defends his WBO light welterweight title for the first time against Haitian-Canadian Dierry Jean on October 24th, 2015.

Career-Defining Fight

That career-defining victory was a 9th round destruction of previously unbeaten and former unified featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa in June of 2014. Three months before that scintillating win, Crawford won the WBO lightweight title by traveling to Glasgow, England and beating Ricky Burns in his hometown. After beating Gamboa, Crawford then shut out Raymundo Beltran for 12 rounds to close out 2014 as the BWAA and ESPN Fighter of the Year winner.

The lack of marquee opponents at lightweight prompted Crawford to vacate his belt and fight for the WBO 140-pound title last April 8th, 2015 where he scored a 6th round KO win over Thomas Dulorme and become a world champion in a second weight class. On Saturday night, Crawford looks to close the year with a bang against an impressive challenger who cannot be taken lightly.

Second Title Shot

Dierry Jean, the WBO #2 contender at 140 pounds,  is a former NABF Lightweight and Light Welterweight champion who’s fought almost exclusively in his adoptive hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In fact, his October 24th date with Crawford is only the third time he will be fighting on U.S soil. His last fight in the U.S. dealt him his first ever career loss. That 12-round UD loss to Lamont Peterson was Jean’s first crack at a world title. He promises to make good on his second chance against Bud Crawford.

In his most recent bout, Jean won a 10-round decision over Jerry Belmontes Jean also holds KO wins over Ivan Cano, Mario Perez and Daniel Ruiz. Jean dropped to lightweight after his competitive loss to Peterson but has moved back to 140 to take this chance of a lifetime.

Who Takes This?

Bookies have Crawford as an overwhelming -2500 favorite against Jean who is going at +1200. The two fighters have a combined record of 55-1 with close to 70% of those victories by knockout so it’s hard not to expect that this one isn’t going the distance. Crawford has the advantage, both in age and in skill. However, Jean is a tough cookie who took a legit 140-pound champion in Peterson to his limits during their 2014 fight.

The fearless Haitian has true KO power in his fists and it will be interesting to see how Crawford takes the punch of a hard-hitting 140 pound fighter because Dulorme wasn’t one. Crawford however, refused to predict a KO, saying for as long as his hand is raised in victory at the end of the fight, that’s what matters. Having said that, it’s possible Crawford would just coast to another sweet 12-round win because he has the skills to outbox the crude Jean. We’re picking Bud Crawford to win by unanimous decision.

The UFC’s #3 ranked heavyweight has pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 76 bout against Ben Rothwell with an undisclosed injury.

UFC officials confirmed on Tuesday that Stipe Miocic will not be fighting Ben Rothwell in Saturday’s co-main event in Dublin. The UFC initially explored late replacement options but given the short notice of Miocic’s withdrawal and the location of the fight (in Ireland), the promotion ultimately decided to pull out Rothwell from the fight card, as well.

Title Implications

Rothwell is ranked #7 by UFC and the bout had title implications written all over it. UFC undisputed Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum had just taken out #1 ranked former champion Cain Velasquez last June, while the second ranked heavyweight Junior Dos Santos is set to face Alistair Overeem in December. According to UFC sources, the winner of that bout will likely get the next shot at Werdum’s title. However, an impressive win by Miocic would have put him in contention too. That isn’t happening anymore.

Miocic ends the year with just one fight in the books and that was a 5th round TKO finish of Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 65 last May. The 33-year old Croatian American is 4-1 in his last five fights with 2 KOs. His only loss during that stretch was a close decision against former champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox 13 which earned fight of the night honors.

Frustrating Development

Miocic’s withdrawal was a frustrating development for Rothwell who is riding high on a three-fight winning streak. The former USMMA heavyweight champion and IFL standout is coming off three impressive stoppage victories. Rothwell knocked out Brandon Vera at UFC 164, upset Alistair Overeem with a first round KO win at UFC Fight Night 50 and submitted Matt Mitrione at UFC Fight Night 68, the first submission win of his career. Getting a shot against a very highly ranked opponent like Miocic would have given this 34-year old’s fading title aspirations a boost. Now he has to wait and look for another fight.

Rothwell wasted no time and threw his hat at Junior Dos Santos. Rothwell informed the UFC that he would be willing to be the standby guy in case one of Overeem and Dos Santos gets hurt. He says that he isn’t wishing for any injury but added that he would really want to fight Junior Dos Santos badly because a win against Cigano definitely makes him #1 contender.

UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw has confirmed that he is leaving Team Alpha Male to join former coach Duane Ludwig at Ludwig’s Team Elevation camp in Denver, Colorado.

A New Chapter

While Dillashaw joins his former coach in Denver when he begins training for his January 2016 title defense against former champion Dominick Cruz , Ludwig won’t be Dillashaw’s official “head coach”. According to reports, Dillashaw will train with Team Elevation and will be getting “regular coaching” from Ludwig as both see fit. But make no mistake, the move to Denver is all about Duane Ludwig and a “new chapter” in his career.

Dillashaw started his career with Team Alpha Male but despite the camp’s high profile stars like Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez, they never had a UFC champion until Ludwig arrived in 2013 and transformed Dillashaw from a young contender into the brilliant striker who ended Renan Barao’s incredible run of 33 fights without a loss. Since that UFC 173 upset victory, Dillashaw has continually improved and showed that with his second win over Barao last July 25.

Internal Conflict

But with Dillashaw’s rise came rumors of internal conflict within Team Alpha Male, specifically between Faber and Ludwig. Shortly after winning the UFC bantamweight title, Ludwig quit his post a head trainer to set up his own camp in Denver. But despite his departure, Ludwig was always in contact with Dillashaw and occasionally trained the champ. Many observers wondered how long would it be before Dillashaw would follow Ludwig in Denver. We now have that answer.

Money was said to be the root of the problem at Team Alpha Male. Faber called Ludwig a “racist who is shady about money”. That started an ugly war of words between the two. This week Faber took a shot at Dillashaw, saying he walked away from the “family” who made him who he is today. But Dillashaw made the move simply to focus on his future, especially his next fight against the Dominator.

The Early Favorite

T.J. Dillashaw versus Dominick Cruz has been set for  UFC Fight Night 81 on January 17, 2016 at the TD Garden Arena in Boston. Dillashaw opened as the early favorite at -150 against Cruz who was pegged at +120 in what is expected to be a very competitive fight. Fans are crossing their fingers though that Cruz makes it to fight night as his has been a career cut short by injuries. After a successful comeback at UFC 178 in September 2014, Cruz has spent the entire 2015 rehabilitating a torn ACL. Cruz was the former UFC bantamweight champion who was stripped of the title after missing nearly three years due to numerous knee injuries from 2012-2014.

They say that big things come in small packages and those are the exact words to describe the co-main event of Golovkin vs. Lemieux and Roman Gonzalez vs. Brian Viloria this coming Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pound for Pound

The Pound for Pound rankings was created to determine the best fighters in the world regardless of weight. When Floyd Mayweather was still fighting, he was on top of that list for a very long time. But now that he’s busy counting and spending his money, the smallest guy in the old Top 10 list has vaulted all the way to the top.

At 5-3 and fighting at the flyweight limit of 112 pounds, Roman Gonzalez is literally small. But once he enters the ring, he becomes a larger than life attraction. Known as Chocolatito, Gonzalez is unbeaten in 43 fights and has 37 wins by way of knockout. Since turning pro, Chocolatito has blitzed through three weight classes and is the only other three-division world champion from Argentina aside from the legendary Alexis Arguello.

Equally Explosive

When the promoters booked Golovkin-Lemieux, it was hailed as one of the best matchups ever made in this era of promotional wars. But when Gonzalez picked Brian Viloria as his opponent in the co-featured bout, it solidified the fight card and gave it an equally explosive appetizer.

Brian Viloria is no walk in the park for Roman Gonzalez. The Filipino-Hawaiian standout is a former two division world champion who at age 34 remains one of the toughest fighters in his weight class. Since losing his WBA and WBO flyweight titles to Juan Francisco Estrada by split decision in 2013, Viloria has racked up four consecutive wins including the last three by KO within five rounds. The Hawaiian punch believes that there is still one more big fight left in him before he retires.

Who Takes This?

Chocolatito is a huge -1400 favorite against the Hawaiian Punch who is at +700 in most betting books but make no mistake about it, Viloria is no stranger to fighting against the odds. After being given up for dead in 2007 after losing twice to Omar Nino and Edgar Sosa, Viloria won the Light Flyweight title in 2009 and the Flyweight title in 2011 to resurrect his career. Now trained by Freddie Roach, Viloria is in the best shape in years and won’t be intimidated by Gonzalez.

But while Viloria is great, Chocolatito is pretty special. With power in both fists, we should see a war against Viloria. Comparing offensive arsenals though, Gonzalez has the much varied attack and has the better defense. Having said that, Viloria should hold his own but tire in the latter rounds as he usually does in his losses. Gonzalez should win by late stoppage in a fight that should be close in the scorecards.

*photo credit – boxingnewsonline.net

Gennady Golovkin may not have landed the biggest fight possible but he will certainly end the year with the biggest fight of his career. WBA, WBC and IBO champion Golovkin will attempt to annex the IBF version of the middleweight title on October 17th when he faces Canadian banger David Lemieux in a title unification bout at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Destroyer

Gennady Golovkin has left a trail of destruction in boxing’s middleweight class, beating all 33 of the opponents he’s faced while knocking out 30 of them. His 90.9% KO rate is the highest ever in the history of middleweight boxing and he enters the Lemieux bout with a string of 20 consecutive knockout victories which includes 14 title fights. But the problem with Gennady Golovkin however is that he’s been scary good that big named opponents have used one reason after another to avoid facing him inside the ring. Not David Lemieux.

Ready for Superstardom

The 26-year old Montreal, Canada native won the IBF middleweight title in a one-sided beat down of former WBO middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam last June in Canada. Prior to beating N’Dam, Lemieux was the NABF Middleweight titleholder beating Fernando Guerrero and Gabriel Rosado in his immediate previous bouts. Lemieux himself is a heavy hitter, with 31 of his 34 victories won by knockout. But Lemieux’s rise in the sport was nearly ended before it even began when he suffered back to back losses to Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine in 2011. Those defeats are the only losses in Lemieux’s 36-fight career and it’s safe to say that he’s gotten over that hump and is ready for super stardom.

Making the Best Fights Happen

Golovkin versus Lemieux has been lauded by fans and experts alike to be one of the best made fights in recent memory. The sport has been tainted by politics and promotional rivalries which have denied us of many great match-ups over the years. Credit goes to Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy and David Lemieux himself who didn’t hesitate in taking a fight many bigger stars refused to because of the high risks. For Golovkin who has been looking for a marquee opponent for years, David Lemieux isn’t Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez but he is definitely legit and many classes better than Willie Monroe Jr or Martin Murray, his last two opponents. He will not only face a better foe but he will fight someone who like him has dynamite packed in his punches. Lemieux has won 7 of his last 8 bouts by KO or TKO. Only N’Dam went the distance but even he went down four times in that bout.

Who Takes This?

Golovkin is a -1400 favorite in most sports books while Lemieux is a +700 underdog. David Lemieux is the best opponent Golovkin has ever been matched up with and he does pack a lot of power in his punches, too. But remember that in Lemieux’s loss to Rubio in 2011, he faded late in the fight and was dropped by the same fighter Golovkin knocked out in 2 rounds two years later. On the other hand, what makes Golovkin special isn’t just his KO power but a granite chin which has never been knocked down, much more knocked out in over 37 fights both as an amateur and as a professional. Having said that, we’ll see how durable that chin is against arguably the hardest hitter he’s ever faced. This one should be an all-action fight because both fighters fight only one way: move forward. However, while Golovkin’s chin is a legend, Lemieux’s is still a suspect. We’ll see one of the most exciting fights of the year, but once Lemieux obliges in a mano-e-mano battle with GGG, this fight won’t go the distance. We’re picking Golovkin to win by KO in the middle rounds.

After Johny Hendricks pulled out of Saturday’s UFC 192 co-main event, the UFC announced that Tyron Woodley would get the next shot at the UFC welterweight title of Robbie Lawler.

Hendricks’ Health

Woodley was set to fight Hendricks in a title eliminator bout at UFC 192 but Hendricks experienced health problems while cutting weight for the bout. According to Ted Ehrhardt, Hendricks’ manager, the former champ was taken to an ER last Thursday after suffering an intestinal blockage and a kidney stone. He was “pulled” by a doctor and given an IV. Prior to this incident, Hendricks had never missed weight before. However, during his rematch with Lawler, he initially tipped the scales ½ pound overweight but made the weight clean during his second attempt. There were reports that Hendricks was 20 pounds overweight on Tuesday or  four days before the weigh-in but was down to 183 lbs right before he was hospitalized. Hendricks’ had been hinting to move up in weight and with this development, he is most probably going to fight at middleweight in his next fight.

Johny’s Loss is Tyron’s Gain

While Woodley was somewhat disappointed he didn’t prove himself inside the Octagon, he called Henricks’ loss his gain. Woodley said that he trained hard and was ready to fight. He even took the scales on Friday’s weigh-in to prove his point. The UFC said that Woodley would get his “show money” for the Hendricks fight but that is not the bigger prize. UFC President Dana White told Yahoo Sports in an interview that Woodley will face the winner between the January 2 welterweight title bout between champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit. The 3rd ranked Woodley has been fighting since 2009 and has not won a world title. In the only title fight of his MMA career, Woodley suffered his first loss after getting knocked out by Nate Marquardt for the vacant Strikeforce Welterweight title in 2012. Woodley is 5-2 in the UFC and has beaten Josh Koschek, Carlos Condit and Kevin Gastelum in the Octagon. His last loss at UFC 174 gave Rory MacDonald a title shot against Lawler.

Woodley becomes an unlikely title challenger without a big win to earn the shot. But that wasn’t his fault. One UFC official confirmed Dana White’s pronouncement on Woodley’s title shot but reiterated that “timing” would still be crucial for Woodley to fight for the title. Should Lawler go on to beat Condit and retain his title, fans are still salivating about a third fight between Lawler and MacDonald who engaged in an incredibly brutal five round war at UFC 189 last July. MacDonald is ranked #2 or one higher than Woodley and a rematch between the two before a date with Lawler would also be a good one to make.

With Marcos Maidana still on the sidelines, Lucas Matthysse hopes to step out of his countryman’s shadow as he faces Viktor Postol for the WBC Light Welterweight title on October 3rd at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California.

Out of the Shadows

Maidana is the first name that comes to mind when we talk about Argentina and knockouts. That’s because El Chino has made a name for himself as one of the best KO artists of this generation. But with Maidana sitting out the entire 2015 after two fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year, the “other” Argentinian slugger hopes to finally step out of his shadow on Saturday night. Lucas Matthysse was Maidana’s amateur rival, losing thrice and drawing once to El Chino. But since turning pro, the careers of these two Argentinian knockout artists have taken a different path. Maidana moved up to 147 in 2012, searching for the big fights. He landed twice last year and although he lost, he’s still enjoying his spoils. On the other hand, Matthysse chose to remain at 140 but unlike Maidana but hasn’t won any world titles yet. He however holds big wins over former champions Vivian Harris, DeMarcus Corley, Humberto Soto, Lamont Peterson and Ruslan Provodnikov. He hopes to change that on October 3rd.

Roach’s Unbeaten Prospect

Ukrainian Postol is one of Freddie Roach’s outstanding pupils and one of the division’s top prospects. He is undefeated in 27 fights and has 11 KOs. Like Matthysse, he is looking for his first world title. The 31-year old Postol earned the right to this title shot with an 11th round TKO win over former welterweight contender Selcuk Aydin in May of 2014. But with Danny Garcia vacating the title to move up to welterweight, Postol now faces the hard hitting Matthysse, the WBC’s #2 ranked 140-pound fighter. Postol also holds notable wins over DeMarcus Corley and Henry Lundy.

Who Takes This?

Viktor Postol has a sizable height and reach advantage of 5 and 3 inches respectively over Lucas Matthysse, the Argentinian slugger is the favorite here at -225 while Postol the underdog at +187. Postol works a very good jab and works the entire ring very well. But Matthysse has excellent power in both hands and knows how to cut-off the ring and catch his opponents backing up. Like Postol, Matthysse works the body very well and if he starts landing on Postol’s body, he will slow him down. Unfortunately, Postol doesn’t have the power to make Matthysse think twice. He will try to use his slick boxing skills to win this on points but that is easier said than done against Matthysse. Experts are picking Matthysse to break down Postol early and finish him in the championship rounds.

When Daniel Cormier faces Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 on October 3rd, he won’t be just making the first defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight title, he will be looking to establish a new era.

A new Era?

With former champion Jon Jones still in the sidelines for his out-of-the-octagon issues, Daniel Cormier won the vacant 205-pound title by methodically beating the hard hitting Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC 187. But with his predecessor being the longest reigning LHW champion of All-time at 1,501 days and 8 title defenses and the fact that Jones beat him soundly by decision at UFC 178, Cormier is looking to establish a new era that he can rightfully call his. Beating Alexander Gustafsson will be a good start.

Swedish Mauler

Gustafsson is the UFC’s third ranked LHW and erupted in the spotlight when he took a controversial unanimous decision loss to Jon Jones in what many consider to be the greatest Light Heavyweight title fight of All-time. But Gustafsson’s stock appeared to have taken a dive following a shocking 1st round KO loss to Rumble Johnson last January in Sweden. But because Gustafsson was promised a title shot after his first bout with Jones, he will be facing Cormier on Saturday despite being 1-2 in his last 3 fights.

Date With Bones

The Cormier-Gustafsson showdown does not have the appeal of a super fight but it’s one that holds a huge consequence and serves as a prelude to the bigger fight. For one, Cormier and Gustafsson are the “guinea pigs” for the UFC’s new drug policy which utilizes full USADA rules,unannounced drug testing and banning of IV to rehydrate after the weigh-in. Aside from being that ground breaking  event, the fight will lead to a rematch with Jon Jones. Both Cormier and Gustafsson lost to Jones in the past and it will be interesting to see how the winner does the second time around.

Who Takes This?

Cormier-Gustaffson is stylistically intriguing because Cormier is probably the best wrestler in the sport while Gustafsson loves to strike from the outside. We’ve seen Gus strike with Jones and we saw how good he can be if he fights from the outside. But we’ve also seen Cormier shut down an aggressive striker like Rumble Johnson. Remember too that Johnson knocked out Gustafsson in just one round. The current odds have Cormier as a favorite at -340 while Gustafsson the underdog at +280. Both men are without a doubt elite 205 pound fighters, but it’s hard to imagine how Cormier won’t be able to control the fight with his supreme wrestling skills, especially since he wrestles with Cain Velasquez in practice. Cormier should take this fight to the ground and win by unanimous decision.

WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder will defend his title for the second time against Frenchman Johann Duhaupas on September 26th at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Last and First

As the last male American boxer to win a medal in the Summer Olympics, 2008 Beijing games bronze medalist Deontay Wilder is the first American boxing heavyweight champion in nearly a decade, winning the WBC heavyweight title last January 17 to become the first American heavyweight boxing champion since Shannon Briggs in 2007. Wilder defeated then defending champion Bermane Stiverne of Canada in a masterful 12 round boxing display. The victory not only earned him a piece of boxing’s most precious jewels, but it also proved a lot of his detractors wrong.

The Bronze Bomber

Known for his vicious punching power more than anything else, the undefeated Wilder has a 97% KO ratio which includes 18 first round KOs  and only one fight going the distance. That fight happened to be the January title bout with Stiverne but while it was the only “blemish” in what would otherwise be a perfect KO record, it was also Wilder’s finest moment as a professional. There were no knockdowns scored and that came as a surprise. But what was more surprising was the fact that the now 34-0 (33 KOs) Wilder had never fought more than 4 rounds prior to that bout yet he outboxed the erstwhile champion for 12 full rounds. Wilder won via scores of 120-107, 119-108 and 119-108 to prove that he is no one trick pony.

His Glory Road

Wilder’s rise from an inexperienced Olympian who was the only male American boxer to medal in 2008 was inspired by his daughter who suffers from a spinal disorder. From working as a waiter and hoping to play for his Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Wilder dropped out of school and took on boxing to help his daughter’s medical bills. Ultimately, the desire to succeed to earn money has turned into a glory road that has led to boxing’s Heavyweight title. Despite the success, Wilder hasn’t been short of detractors.

Unproven Champion

Wilder’s inexperience and his lack of quality foe has been his critics main guns. Even after winning the heavyweight title, Wilder’s choice of Eric Molina in his first title defense was criticized. His choice of Johann Duhaupas in his next defense makes it a double whammy. Duhaupas is a former French Heavyweight champion and former EBU-EU Heavyweight champion but he is ranked just #12 by the WBC. The 32 year old challenger has a 32-2 record with 20 KOs and looks formidable but going through his resume, Duhaupas hasn’t fought a significant name and has lost to Francesco Pianeta and Erkan Teper which won’t get you excited at all.

Who Takes This?

Wilder’s drawback is more of his inexperience rather than weakness. Having picked up the sport at a late age primarily to support his daughter, Wilder doesn’t have enough rounds to be called an experienced fighter. But that’s also more because he has a powerful right hand more than anything else. Duhaupas has never been knocked out and while he gives up 2 inches in height, he will be heftier at around 20 pounds heavier than Wilder. But Wilder is the prototype of the future heavyweight: tall, long, fast, agile and powerful- much like fellow Olympian and Briton prospect Anthony Joshua. Duhaupas doesn’t have the physical skills to match up and should be overwhelmed in the middle rounds. The odds have placed Wilder at -2500 and he may be headed to another KO win.

Fedor Emalienko is officially back, just not in the UFC as many have expected.

Reunited

In an announcement made during Bellator: Dynamite 1 last Saturday, former PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that MMA legend Fedor Emalienko will be fighting on a New Year’s Eve Fight Card in Tokyo,Japan and which will be televised on Spike TV. Sakakibara, who himself is making an MMA comeback, will be promoting the event for a new MMA Promotion based in Japan. In doing so, Emalienko returns to where his legend was born and is reunited with the man who helped him grow it.

The Last Emperor

Known as the Last Emperor for being the last PRIDE Heavyweight champion, Emalienko was touted as the #1 Pound for Pound fighter in MMA when he was PRIDE Heavyweight champion from 2003 to 2007. Emalienko has iconic victories over the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Mark Coleman, Mirko Filipovic and  Mark Hunt among others. After the UFC’s parent company Zuffa purchased PRIDE in 2007 and ceased its operations, Fedor won the inaugural WAMMA Heavyweight title with the 2008 Submission of the Year winner against former UFC champion Tim Syliva. In his next fight, he would score the 2009 Knockout of the Year in defeating another former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski in his first title defense. Fedor then went on to fight for Strikeforce where three straight losses to current UFC champion Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson forced him out of the limelight. After three more fights outside the United States, Fedor hang up his gloves in 2012.

Change in LandScape

But the change in landscape in the UFC’s heavyweight division has bred rumors of a comeback by Emalienko. This was fueled even more by Fabricio Werdum’s victory over Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 last June and Andrei Arlovski’s rise to the UFC’s #4 contender slot. With his contemporaries like the 38 year old Werdum and the 36 year old Arlovski dominating the current picture, the possibility of Fedor Emalienko returning became very plausible especially with the dearth of quality title contenders in MMA’s heavyweight division. Emalienko is turning 39 soon but with the average age of the UFC’s heavyweight contenders right now pegged at 35. then the Last Emperor is still in the ripe age to compete-just not in the UFC at least for now.

Return To Glory

Fedor’s opponent hasn’t been named yet nor has the venue for the event been announced. The terms of Emalienko’s contract with the new promotion is even muddy. Some say it’s just a one fight deal while others are reporting a two fight contract. Rumors are even saying that Bellator will be sending some of the fighters in its roster to complete the fight card. But as the MMA world awaits for the announcement of the complete details, Emalienko’s return isn’t just seen as an attempt to make money or further his legend. It is more widely seen as an attempt to rebuild the once prominent MMA scene in Japan. Back in its days, PRIDE was the venue for the best MMA fighters and it also became the breeding ground for former UFC champions. With Sakakibara spearheading a new start-up promotion and Fedor Emalienko as its lead star, the MMA looks to open the coming year with a big bang.