“I think it’s time to call it a day. This fight may be my last one,” said Emelianenko to Russian outlet RIA Novosti.

The statements mark a change in attitude from “The Last Emperor” who had avoided the topic of retirement even after dropping a trio of fights in Strikeforce. Emelianenko had also come forward in the past few months to amp up buzz about the possibility of signing a deal with the UFC.

While Emelianenko left some room for a return in his remarks, it seems for now he’ll only be focusing on Rizzo and nothing beyond their June 22 bout.

“I have been learning from Pedro’s fights and have a lot of respect for him. He is a fighter of a great maturity, beating many of the strongest,” concluded Emelianenko on his opponent.

If he does indeed call it quits Emelianenko will exit the sport with an overall record of 33-4 (plus the result against Rizzo) with 25 stoppages and wins over some of MMA’s greatest competitors including Mirko Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

On the latest episode of Rebellion MMA Radio, Trigg was asked to share some of his most memorable stories in MMA and the answer was nothing short of epic.

Up until his last three fights, Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko was viewed as the most dominant man in the entire sport. “The Last Emperor” dominated the heavyweight division for a decade without speaking a lick of English (and often without speaking at all) though apparently he could have said a lot more…

“A lot of my stories are usually weird stuff from after parties that you really can’t talk about but going to Japan a lot you really learn about a lot of different people. You see Jake Shields over there all the time, you see Gilbert Melendez over there all the time and it’s just a weird situation when you’re in this foreign land with all of these Americans but the most interesting thing was drinking vodka with Fedor,” Trigg said.

“[Fedor and I] are sitting there in the hotel bar and we’re talking and we’re having a great time and all of a sudden I realize that this fool speaks English. I was like ‘Come on man, you’re really going to pull this?’ It’s not good English or clear English but you can definitely understand it enough to talk to him. He was just like ‘Nah, I don’t like doing it because I don’t feel comfortable on the microphone’ and we were just talking for five minutes in a straight English conversation without a translator.”

“Then he goes ‘You know its funny’ and I go ‘What’s that?’ and he says ‘The more you drink vodka, the better you think your Russian is.’ That was when I first started realizing how the world works.”

To listen to the entire interview, click the link below:

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

However, Emelianenko recently addressed a few matters while being interviewed at a European fitness conference, and though his responses weren’t necessarily detailed he certainly got his point across including those on the differences between M-1 Global and UFC.

“They make their own fighters,” said Emelianenko of the UFC to GNP TV after one of the most tense dramatic pauses in MMA-interview history. “They train their own guys and don’t buy established fighters.”

“We’ll see,” he continued when asked if he was completely done considering the possibility of competing inside the Octagon one day down the road.

Check out the full interview below where Emelianenko also offers up his thoughts on future opponent Pedro Rizzo, trash-talking in MMA, and the quality of fighters outside of the UFC:

PHOTO CREDIT – M-1 GLOBAL / STRIKEFORCE

According to M-1 Global official Evgeni Kogan, Emelianenko and Rizzo have agreed to face off on June 21 in St. Petersburg at an unnamed show expected to occur under the M-1 banner. The bout marks Emelianekno’s second in his proverbial backyard of Russia since parting ways with Strikeforce.

Rizzo holds an overall record of 19-9 and is on a three-fight winning streak including success against Jeff Monson, Gary Goodridge, and Ken Shamrock. Unfortunately, the 37-year old will have been on the sidelines for nearly two years when he finally locks horns with legendary “Last Emperor”, bringing the dreaded notion of “ring rust” into the equation.

The 33-4 Emelianenko will be seeking his third straight victory in the bout, having beaten Monson and Satoshi Ishii in his previous two outings.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE/FEG

M-1 Global

News of the possible pairing was essentially confirmed by Gracie on his Twitter account when he posted, “Where there is smoke there is fire. My manager is under negotiation with M1. We’re really close to make this fight against Fedor to happen.”

If signed the fight would take place in St. Petersburg, Russia. Gracie has won three straight fights since losing in his only UFC bout including a victory over Bob Sapp. Comparably, Emelianenko has won back-to-back bouts since three consecutive defeats in Strikeforce to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, and Dan Henderson respectively.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

According to M-1 executive Evgeni Kogan (via Twitter), “The Last Emperor” has agreed to make an appearance in the ring at an event on June 22 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The bout will mark the second fight for Emelianenko in his homeland in the last six months with the first involving his outpointing of Monson. Specific details surrounding the scrap are still a bit sketchy, as no opponent has been revealed, though it appears at least one face fans are familiar with is receiving serious consideration – Bobby Lashley.

MMAJunkie was first to report news of Lashley’s possible involvement.

Lashley, who was last seen picking up an opening round submission in November, was linked to the lineup by a source familiar with the developing card. The former Strikeforce stand-out is 7-1 in his career but has never faced an adversary with Emelianenko’s credentials.

The 35-year old Russian holds an overall record of 33-4 with 25 stoppages and wins over some of the best in the business such as prime versions of Mirko Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

However, “The Last Emperor” appears to be back to his losing ways…sort of.

While making an appearance on a Japanese game show, Emelianenko competed against Shinichi Suzukawa in a Sumo match and showed he’s better off sticking with MMA. Suzukawa is a retired Sumo fighter from Japan.

Watch the video below while doing your best to remember when we lived in a world where many considered Emelianenko the greatest MMA fighter of all time:

PHOTO CREDIT – M-1

However, it appears he still has at least one suitor interested in his services on a regular basis – newly formed Super Fight League. SFL put on its first show earlier this month with another event planned for April featuring recognizable veterans Todd Duffee, Neil Grove, Paul Kelly, Ryan Healy, Ikuhisa Minowa, and Alexander Shlemenko. Additional shows are planned for the remainder of the year, all in India where the promotion is based out of.

“Fedor is definitely a fighter we would consider and would be honored to have fight in the SFL,” said CEO Ken Pavia when asked about Emelianenko by Fighters Only Magazine.

While Pavia’s response can only be taken at face value, as most organizations would enjoy Emelianenko’s star power on their roster, it seems the Russian’s management team is at least open to the idea if the particulars can be worked out.

“We are of course flattered by Pavia’s statement and if there are any concrete proposals for co-operation, Fedor and Vadim (Finkelstein) will of course seriously consider them,” said M-1 Global executive Evgeni Kogan.

Emelianenko’s two wins since his Strikeforce run improved his overall record to 33-4. Other impressive victories to his credit include those against Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Mirko Filipovic, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

While his statements could be seen as posturing in hopes of eliciting a better deal overseas and do little to address the issue of co-promotion as M-1 Global has sought before, they do at least lend hope to the slim possibility of Emelianenko finally making his way to the infamous eight-sided cage.

Saying he was targeting June/July for his next fight in an interview with SportBox.ru, Emelianenko added, “Of course, I want to compete at home, in front of my countrymen. But at the moment, the strongest and most respected MMA organization is situated in America. It’s the UFC. Therefore, I have to go to the US in order to face the strongest opponents.”

The 33-4 PRIDE legend also confirmed there have been discussions behind the scenes about meeting former UFC champion Velasquez later this year.

Emelianenko has won back-to-back bouts since parting ways with Strikeforce including victories over Jeff Monson and Satoshi Ishii. The 35-year old looked dominant in both performances though neither is at the UFC-level in terms of present ability, calling into question how well he’d actually do against the cream of the crop.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The 35-year old icon’s plans were revealed earlier today in an email to USA Today from M-1 Global representative Evgeni Kogan.

As far as a specific date or location, Kogan explained that Emelianenko’s home-country of Russia was being considered, as was Monaco. Beyond general information, little else was offered other than that a rumored bout between the former PRIDE champion and Bobby Lashley was far from materializing.

Emelianenko’s wins over Monson/Ishii both brought back memories of his better days after the formerly unbeatable Russian lost three fights in a row while under the Strikeforce banner. Among the many notable victories on the 33-4 legend’s record are those over Mirko Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

The event, which will take place on December 31, goes down at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Emelianenko stopped a three-fight losing skid by earning a decision victory over Jeff Monson in his native country of Russia earlier this year. Fedor had previously lost to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, and Dan Henderson. The defeats knocked his profile down a few pegs but, in Japan, “The Last Emperor” is still widely-accepted as one of the best of all time.

Ishii won Olympic gold in Judo for Japan and is 4-1 in his MMA career. He fought to a draw with former WEC champion Paulo Filho in his last match.

Check out the preview below:

PHOTO CREDIT – M1/FEG

The bout, scheduled to take place at DREAM: New Year! 2011, was announced earlier today by DREAM officials.

Emelianenko, who for many years was seen as the consensus best heavyweight in MMA, will be looking for a second consecutive win after snapping his recent three-fight skid with a one-sided Unanimous Decision victory over Jeff Monson last month. “The Last Emperor” has racked up a 32-4 record during his storied run including those over Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, and Mirko Filipovic.

Though Ishii may only possess 1/7 of Emelianenko’s experience in the ring he has done well for himself since transitioning from judo, going 4-0-1 in five fights since dropping his debut to PRIDE icon Hidehiko Yoshida.

Other match-ups expected at DREAM: New Year! 2011 include Ryo Chonan vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

M-1 Global

Now, M-1 Global’s Vadim Finkelstein feels like there is a perfect fighter for Fedor to face in 2012 – former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Velasquez lost his belt to Junior dos Santos earlier this month at UFC on FOX 1: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos.

“We are determined to move forward, and would like to offer the UFC a fight between Cain Velasquez and Fedor Emelianenko,” said Finkelstein, in a recent interview with Russia’s Championat.ru. “I can guarantee Dana White great revenue from this fight, and a record-breaking attendance.”

As you can imagine, thanks to years and years of frustration in dealing with Emelianenko and his people, White was less than excited about the fight, posting on his Twitter, “Hell no!” in regards to Finkelstein’s request.

Dashing the hopes of dreamers everywhere, it appears that once again the notion of Emelianenko gracing the Octagon is still little more than wishful thinking.

PHOTO CREDIT – M1 GLOBAL/UFC

“The Last Emperor” had lost his previous three fights while competing in Strikeforce, falling to Dan Henderson, Antonio Silva, and Fabricio Werdum. Fighting for the first time in his native country in over four years, Emelianenko dismantled Monson over three rounds with jabs, punches and low kicks.

Fedor stopped the constant takedown attempts by Monson, bloodying and bruising his face. Emelianenko kept the fight standings, keeping himself from getting into the same kind of trouble as followed in fights with Silva and Werdum.

Vadim Finkelstein, co-founder of M-1, said after the fight that Fedor could return to action next month against 2008 Olympic judo champion Satoshi Ishii. Nothing has been confirmed, however.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE/M-1

M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson takes place tomorrow from the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

Emelianenko has lost his last three fights, falling to Dan Henderson, Antonio Silva, and Fabricio Werdum while competing for Strikeforce. The Monson bout will mark the first time Fedor has fought in Russia since defeating Matt Lindland in 2007.

“I’m really happy to be fighting in Russia because most of my fights have been overseas. I feel good and I’m looking forward to this fight,” said Emeliankeno, in a recent interview promoting the event. “This is my job. I always try to win each fight. I’m not fighting to prove anything to anyone. I fight; that’s what I do.”

Monson has been trying to secure a fight with Emelianenko for quite some time, and Fedor is aware of that, saying, “This fight has been talked about since my PRIDE days. I am familiar with his career. I think Jeff is a very respected and tough opponent.”

M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson will be available on pay-per-view beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

PHOTO CREDIT – M-1 Global

“The Last Emperor” will attempt to take his first step back towards reclaiming the divisional crown on November 12 at a M-1 Global event in his native Russia with submission-grappling ace Jeff Monson standing in his way of appeasing the hometown crowd. Monson announced the fight via Twitter.

Monson recently had an eight-fight winning streak snapped by undefeated Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier but holds an overall record of 42-12 with 26 tap-outs to show for his in-ring efforts. Among the opponents “The Snowman” has beaten are a number of notable adversaries including Roy Nelson and Sergei Kharitonov.

As impressive as Monson’s past accomplishments may be they pale in comparison to Emelianenko’s body of work who followed up an epic run in PRIDE featuring wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic with another five victories after the Japanese promotion folded.  However, since scoring a TKO over Brett Rogers in November 2009, Emelianenko has fallen in three straight with the once-unimaginable stretch involving a submission loss and two strike-based stoppages.

No other bouts for the M-1 event were revealed though more are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Also interesting, the show’s date coincides with the UFC’s debut on FOX highlighted by heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez’s live title-defense against Brazilian bomber Junior dos Santos.

“We have already reached all the necessary agreements on his fight,” stated M-1 Global co-founder and Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein.

Once considered the best fighter in the world, and arguably the greatest fighter of all-time, Fedor is in the midst of a three fight losing streak that started in June 2010 with a first round submission loss to Fabricio Werdum. He failed to bounce back against Antonio Silva this past February, not being able to overcome the size of “Bigfoot” and losing via doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. Things didn’t get better for “The Last Emperor” in July as he was finished by Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson in the first round. Following the loss, Strikeforce officials released Fedor from his contract.

Fedor hadn’t lost in almost 10 years prior to the three fight slide, defeating heavyweights such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Rogers.

While no opponent has been announced, it’s been rumored that former UFC heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga could face the famed Russian under the M-1 Global banner. Other options could include the likes of Pedro Rizzo, Todd Duffee, or Bobby Lashley.

*PHOTO CREDIT – ESTHER LIN/STRIKEFORCE*

M-1 Global President and Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein ended all speculation earlier today, confirming that Fedor will not retire and that he will fight again in 2011.

“We consulted with Fedor and it was decided that he should not leave the sport in this way. His friends and past opponents support Fedor in continuing his career and he agreed,” said Finkelstein.

No long under contract to Strikeforce, Fedor’s next fight will be under the M-1 Global banner in Russia later this year.

Finkelstein commented that, “We want to organize a fight for Fedor in Russia and have already begun working in this direction. If everything goes as planned, we will produce a card in Moscow or St. Petersburg sometime in the fall with Fedor as the main event.”

If everything goes as planned, we may see Fedor more than once in 2011. Finkelstein is also working to secure a fight for Fedor in Japan on New Years Eve. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion has competed five times on New Years Eve in Japan, winning every contest.

The end goal is for Fedor to end up back in the United States in 2012 to reclaim his currently unwatched throne.

*PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE*

As FiveOuncesOfPain.com reported weeks ago, the loser of this past weekend’s headlining fight between “The Last Emperor” and Emelianenko ended up losing the fight by first round TKO courtesy of Henderson’s big right hand after a back and forth battle for the majority of the round.

Despite no longer being part of the Strikeforce organization, Fedor’s manager and M-1 Global Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan stated that Fedor has a contract with the television company Showtime, which also carries live M-1 Global events.

Fedor’s future is still up in the air. Following the loss to Henderson, he said he would leave his future in, “God’s hands” but when pressed, said he still wanted to fight, but would first be taking time off to return home to Russia to spend time with his family.

*PHOTO CREDIT – ESTHER LIN/STRIKEFORCE*

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Five Ounces of Pain has confirmed one of the core components of the matchmaking process in regards to their headlining bout on July 30 was the ability to sever professional ties with the loser based on the amount each earns in comparison to their perceived market value, as contracts are generally structured to allow for immediate release in the event of defeat.

In May, ESPN reported the two fighters are scheduled to earn $2.3 million combined for their July 30 fight with Henderson taking home an $800,000 paycheck and his Russian counterpart the remaining amount. For reference, the entire disclosed payroll of UFC 132, the most recent PPV event for the world’s foremost MMA promotion, was more than a million dollars less than the two Strikeforce fighters’ expected windfall in the Windy City.

Whether Zuffa would renegotiate terms with “Hendo” if he loses, or if the former Olympic wrestler would even want to re-sign, are unknown. However, a major factor in Henderson’s departure from the UFC two years ago after winning three straight fights was the amount of money on the table with UFC President Dana White repeatedly stating on record the company’s belief that the 40-year old was not a major draw. The Team Quest patriarch is also on the last fight of his current Strikeforce deal.

Though the parent-company of Strikeforce is not in the same position of fiscal responsibility when it comes to Emelianenko, the previously unbeatable heavyweight is no longer the same asset he was when originally coming on board in 2009, a matter apparently straining the partnership between M-1 Global and the promotion’s primary home, Showtime. Emelianenko has lost his last two fights in convincing fashion meaning a third consecutive stumble – especially to an opponent known for competing in a smaller division – would not only be disastrous on a professional level but also likely mark the end of his Strikeforce career given the kingly sum demanded by “The Last Emperor”.

Though only the future knows for sure how things will play out, it appears a black mark has appeared on what is otherwise an extremely fan-friendly pairing at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson”. The two long-standing stars hold 57 total wins including memorable performances too numerous to list. Among them, for Emelianenko, are victories in Japan against Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, while Henderson has found success against the likes of Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, “Minotauro” Nogueira, Vitor Belfort, and Rich Franklin.

Requests for official comments from Showtime and Strikeforce representatives have gone unanswered at the time of this report.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE