The career of mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Fedor Emelianenko has come to an end. A journey of more than 20 years ended in Los Angeles, where The Last Emperor battled belt-holder American Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight title.

The mood on the eve of the last performance of the Russians was depressing. Experts not only did not believe in Fedor before the most important performance, and the memory did not allow them to forget the first fight and crushing defeat of the US representative (at the beginning of 2019, the fight did not last even a minute) Emelianenko, the main of Bellator 290 after the defeat of his student Anatoly Tokov He also went to the event. The Russian middleweight lost without giving a chance to the undefeated American Johnny Eblin.

The task, to which Tokov did not submit, fell like a heavy burden on Fyodor’s shoulders. In the event of a win against Bader, Emelianenko would become the seventh Russian to achieve the title of absolute league champion, Scott Cocker. Previously, this summit was presented to Vitaly Minakov, Andrey Koreshkov, Alexander Shlemenko, Alexander Volkov, Vadim Nemkov and Usman Nurmagomedov (the last two are the current champions of the promotion in the light heavyweight and lightweight divisions).

The nightmare of domestic MMA fans continued because Emelianenko had a fight even worse than Anatoly Tokov. In reality, we couldn’t even enjoy the main event. As in the first match, 39-year-old Bader quickly dispersed his 46-year-old opponent and beat the famous Russian on the ground. The fight ended with a technical knockout in the first round. Bader defended the title.

Was it worth it for Emelianenko to fight at that age? And wasn’t it your best bet to announce your retirement not in the USA but in the overcrowded Moscow VTB Arena after a stylish knockout victory over Timothy Johnson? Perhaps these and many other questions will no longer be answered.

This much. Fedor Emelianenko’s mother will stop worrying about her son, and the legendary fighter himself will spend more time with his daughters. But he still will not forget about the team: the great athlete plans to combine his activities as the head of the Russian MMA Union and the work of his acting coach. Unlike former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who announced his full retirement from the sports industry at the beginning of the year, The Last Emperor is not ready to give up the sport he has personified for over 20 years.

And will continue to represent.