SAITAMA, Japan – Fedor Emelianenko isn’t retiring from MMA following his knockout of Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237. Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), the former PRIDE champion, returned to Japan after nearly four years on Saturday to score a first-round knockout of “Rampage” (38-14 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) in the heavyweight headliner, which took place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Saitama Super Arena and aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN. Immediately after his win, Emelianenko’s translator made as seem as though the former PRIDE champ was announcing his retirement. However, he later clarified there is a plan in place for a three-fight retirement tour ahead of Bellator 237, and Emelianenko actually meant it was his last appearance in Japan. “I’m doing my tour and this is my final fights, and I want to do a fight in Japan, I want to do a fight in U.S., and I went to do Russia,” Emelianenko told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at Bellator 237. “So Japan, it was my retirement fight in Japan.
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