Somehow, Chael Sonnen's next fight will be against Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest heavyweight ever.
Fedor Emelianenko turned back the clock on Sunday morning. At the second time of asking, he got his first win under the Bellator banner by stopping two-time UFC champion Frank Mir in the first round of Bellator 198's main event.
15 seconds into the fight, it was 'the Last Emperor' who took a seat on the canvas. Mir backed him up with a leg kick attempt and followed it up with a crisp one-two combo up top. The right hand to the dome sent Emelianenko stumbling to the mat, but he recovered swiftly and stood back up.
Emelianenko showed off his judo prowess to throw Mir to the ground in the subsequent clinch. However, it was obvious that he wanted none of the Brazillian jiu-jitsu black belt's ground game. They stood back up and started swinging again. Emelianenko scored some stinging knees to the body in a brief clinch before they separated again.
The fight-ending sequence began with Mir moving forward throwing reaching shots. Fedor stepped out of the way and countered with a vicious uppercut that landed flush on the kisser. Already leaning forward, Mir crumbled face-first into the canvas. Emelianenko kept hammering him with ground and pound until the referee stepped in and awarded him the TKO victory at the 48-second mark.
The result saw Emelianenko improve to 37-5-1 NC 1 while ending his losing streak on US soil at four. By losing his promotional debut, Mir dropped to 18-12 and has now lost seven of his past nine bouts.
https://twitter.com/FancyCombat/status/990432277044826112
Another win for the bad guy
Emelianenko's win is also a victory for Chael Sonnen. The multi-time UFC title challenger will meet the Russian next in the semi-finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix. Sonnen had already secured safe passage by beating Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in his quarter-final.
The date of that match-up has yet to be confirmed, but Sonnen was already doing promo for it after the fight. Following Fedor's interview, he grabbed hold of the mic and did his best to sell the rivalry.
"I think the only thing I hate more than being right here in Chicago is being in this ring with you. And I assure you the next time I am, it will not be for long."
What a time to be alive!
