The mixed martial arts (MMA) world is still waiting to see if Fedor Emelianenko will finally sign on the dotted line to compete inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon after announcing his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) a few months ago.
And it's a big possibility now.
Of course, UFC isn't the only promotion after the Russian's services -- World Series of Fighting (WSOF) has already stated it can afford to sign "Last Emperor."
Then there's Bellator MMA, which is now spearheaded by Scott Coker, a man who is no stranger to working with Emelianenko -- he promoted the former Pride FC Heavyweight champion under the Strikeforce banner for two years.
According to MMA Fighting, Fedor -- as well as MMA legends Kazushi Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock -- will be in attendance at Bellator's Fan Fest as part of events leading up to the promotion's "Dynamite"-branded MMA/Kickboxing hybrid event on Sept. 19, 2015, in San Jose, California.
But, it seems that's as much business Emelianenko and Bellator MMA will do for now -- Coker doesn't think the promotion can cough up the cash to land the aging superstar, who hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in his previous bouts.
"We haven't had any talks with Fedor and his people," relayed Coker.
Of course, that doesn't mean talks won't begin sometime down the road. In fact, Coker could just be playing coy, considering Bellator MMA's parent company, Viacom, has the financial ability to land any superstar it deems worthy.
But, it seems UFC is the favorite to finally land the Russian whale; in fact, Bloody Elbow recently reported that an anonymous source close to Emelianenko's camp revealed that UFC's offer was much more lucrative than anything he has received so far.
In the meantime, Emelianenko has already begun training for his much-anticipated return. All that's left to do now is to get the money right, iron out the details and find the right promotion ... and opponent(s).
So we haven't really gotten anywhere, really.