Fedor Emelianenko, who's been toiling away on the International circuit since saying goodbye Strikeforce in the summer of 2011, has been booked to face former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight hopeful Pedro Rizzo on June 21, 2012 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to M-1 Global Director of Operations Evengi Kogan.
T-minus two months.
Emelianenko (33-4) snapped a three-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Jeff Monson last November, before making it two in a row with a first round knockout finish of judo expert Satoshi Ishii in the DREAM: "Genki Desu Ka Omisoka" year-end MMA extravaganza in Japan.
Can he make it three straight against the heavy hands of "The Rock?"
Rizzo (19-9) is on a three-fight winning streak, but hasn't been inside the cage since a technical knockout win over the reanimated corpse of Ken Shamrock back in July 2010. The Brazilian was paired off with Tim Sylvia under the ProElite banner last October, but was forced to pull out of his "Maine-iac" bout due to injury.
He's been pining for another shot inside the Octagon, but will have to settle for the ex-PRIDE deity instead. Should be interesting, to say the least.
No other match-ups or broadcast plans for the June 21 fight card have been announced at this time; however, we here at MMAmania.com promise to bring them to you just as soon as they become available!
Stay tuned.
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