Well, well, well. Despite all of the hints, despite all of the hype, and despite all of the“confirmations,” it looks like Fedor’s handed us a fistful of wolf tickets. This past Saturday, at Bellator’s Dynamite 1 show, Fedor was revealed to be fighting for Nobuyuki Sakikabara’s new, not-yet-named fight promotion. And, the choice makes sense. Fedor can fight closer to home. He’s a huge draw in Japan. He gets to have a 1- to 2-fight contract, with no long-term obligations. And, he gets to test himself against lesser competition.
And, that’s all great for Fedor. But for many fans, it’s unfortunate that Fedor is not fighting in the UFC (at least not yet, for what it’s worth). With the UFC adding a deal with Russian broadcasters VGTRK and showcasing EFN on Fight Pass, all of the pieces seemed to be in place. But, Sakakibara’s new promotion was always a possibility. However, with no roster to speak of and no one visibly on the horizon for Fedor to fight, I didn’t think the signing would happen. An answer to that problem came with Scott Coker’s announcement of Bellator joining Sakakibara in a co-promotion. But, even with the partnership, there’s only so many opponents I can see to create a marquee match-up with Fedor. Factor in the additional rumor that Sakakibara is looking for an anti-doping agency to test fighters for the NYE event, and efforts to find a compelling fight could get hairy.
That said, here’s a list of seven fights that I think have a good chance of being booked:
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