A number of mixed martial arts luminaries will be in attendance for Fedor Emelinanko’s swan song at Bellator 290.
During an appearance on ”The MMA Hour,” Bellator president Scott Coker revealed a star-studded guest list that includes former opponents such as Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson and Chael Sonnen. Other notables expected to be in attendance include Randy Couture, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Frank Shamrock.
According to Coker, many of the aforementioned legends reached out to him about attending Bellator 290 on their own.
“It’s something that’s really special and means a lot to me because I look at this from a martial arts perspective,” Coker said. “These are the greatest martial artists of their time and their era and they really built what MMA is today and they really built the evolution of what mixed martial arts is today. They deserve to be in the cage with Fedor. It’s going to be a magic moment and I’m really looking forward to it and saying hello to all these gentlemen.
“These gentlemen were all so very nice and really respectful and they’re like, ‘I would love to be there.’ I told them, ‘We’d love to have you in the cage after.’ They said, ‘We would love to do that.’ They’re there to pay tribute to Fedor Emelianenko.”
Emelianenko will face Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title in the Bellator 290 main event on Saturday night at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The evening’s main card will air on CBS beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Coker confirmed that if Emelilanenko captures heavyweight gold in his final fight, the belt will be vacated in his retirement.
“We have other fighters that we could put in there for a title fight in the future, but when he fights this fight, win or lose or even a draw, he is going to retire,” Coker said. “So that title, if he wins, will be vacant.”
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