Fedor Emelianenko clarifies retirement comment, plans two more fights after Bellator 237

SAITAMA, Japan – Fedor Emelianenko isn’t retiring from MMA following his knockout of Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237.

Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), the former PRIDE champion, returned to Japan after nearly four years on Saturday to score a first-round knockout of “Rampage” (38-14 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) in the heavyweight headliner, which took place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena and aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN.

Immediately after his win, Emelianenko’s translator made as seem as though the former PRIDE champ was announcing his retirement. However, he later clarified there is a plan in place for a three-fight retirement tour ahead of Bellator 237, and Emelianenko actually meant it was his last appearance in Japan.

“I’m doing my tour and this is my final fights, and I want to do a fight in Japan, I want to do a fight in U.S., and I went to do Russia,” Emelianenko told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at Bellator 237. “So Japan, it was my retirement fight in Japan. So I’m not retiring.”

Emelianenko, 43, said he was unsure exactly how long it will take to complete the final two bouts in his tour. He intends to return home to Russia and spend the holidays with his family before discussing the future with the Bellator brass.

For now, though, he is enjoying the fruits of his labor against Jackson. It was a one-sided effort against the former UFC champ, with Emelianenko enjoying a sizable speed advantage, and he had no issue pulling the trigger.

The fight wasn’t exactly how Emelianenko envisioned it, he said, but it worked out for the best.

“I thought the fight would end up on the ground, but as soon as I got into the cage, I started to feel that I was faster than ‘Rampage’ and I started to feel that edge,” Emelianenko said. “It would make no sense to go to the ground, so that’s why I kept it up.”

Emelianenko landed the fight-ending shot less than three minutes into the opening round, and while Jackson seemed to take some issue with the stoppage, Emelianenko thought referee Kevin MacDonald made the right call in waving it off.

“It was a good stoppage because I felt like I would just get on top of him and start to deliver very heavy punches,” Emelianenko said. “Right after my punch he just collapsed and went face down. There was no necessity to do more.”

To hear more from Emelianenko, check out the video above.