Conor McGregor won’t be fighting until at least next May but one fighter who will be in action soon is Fedor Emelianenko who will take on Matt Mitrione in Bellator on February 18th. McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to win the lightweight title and he is the most popular draw in the UFC but because his girlfriend is pregnant, McGregor will be taking an extended break. Let’s look at the McGregor and Emelianenko news.
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McGregor Taking a Break
UFC president Dana White said that McGregor won’t fight until May of next year at the earliest. “He won’t fight before May,” White said, “His girl gets super stressed out when he fights. He doesn’t want her having any of that stress while she’s pregnant. He’s good. He should take time off. He’s been fighting nonstop. … It’s good for him and her and it’s good for the baby.”
White said that he is not concerned with McGregor taking a break saying,
“Every day I walk in this office is a new day for the sport,” White said, “This is what we do, what we are. I’ve been doing this [stuff] for years, and I can tell you, 2017 will be dynamite. This is the … fight factory.”
When McGregor does return there are plenty of potential opponents. He could go up against interim featherweight title holder Jose Aldo, the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz or perhaps welterweight title holder Tyron Woodley.
If McGregor went up against Aldo he would likely be about a 2-1 favorite. McGregor destroyed Aldo at UFC 194 but a rematch for both fighters would make sense. McGregor would be an even bigger favorite if he went against Diaz. The more interesting matchups would be McGregor taking on Nurmagomedov and the odds on this fight could be near a pick as Nurmagomedov has simply dominated all of his opponents while McGregor against Woodley might also have the UFC odds at a pick simply because McGregor would be going against a true welterweight in Woodley.
Fedor Signs with Bellator
Fedor Emelianenko will be back in action as he has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator with the first bout having Fedor taking on Matt Mitrione on February 18, 2017. “It's great to be back in business with Fedor," said Bellator MMA President Scott Coker. "The man is a legend both inside and outside of the cage, and I'm elated to bring him back stateside for the American MMA fans to witness him fight Matt Mitrione in San Jose. He and I go quite aways back, and I look forward to continuing to build our partnership here in Bellator MMA."
Emelianenko is 36-4 in his career but he retired in 2012. He announced his return in 2015 and has since defeated Singh Jaideep and Fabio Maldonado but now he will get some real competition with Bellator. Whether or not Emelianenko has anything left is in question as his win over Maldonado was controversial as many people thought the fight should have been a draw.
The fight against Mitrione should be a good one as Mitrione is 11-5 in his career including 2-0 in Bellator. “I’m honored, welcome to the family. I’m so excited I get to touch gloves with you,” said Mitrione to Fedor. "It's the chance of a lifetime," Mitrione said, "When you start, you set cross hairs on certain people. He's the man. He's done everything in this sport. He's beaten everyone with a name, and beaten them in incredible fashion. This all came through my mind in the moment. I feel incredibly fortunate."
The interesting part about the Emelianenko vs. Mitrione fight is that it will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose which is where Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum in a StrikeForce fight. "I'm very happy to be back in America and to be back in San Jose," said Emelianenko, "I'm very happy to have a chance to continue our relationship with Scott (Coker)."
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