Report: Fedor Emelianenko needs new opponent because Jaideep Singh is out of shape

Do you even lift, bro?

Former PRIDE FC 265-pound champion Fedor Emelianenko was expected to fight heavyweight kickboxing import Jaideep Singh for his mixed martial arts (MMA) return, scheduled for Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on New Year's Eve.

But it appears Rizin Fighting Federation (RFF) is having second thoughts, according to MMA Fighting, after a technical knockout win for "Heart" under the DEEP banner earlier this month, in what amounts to just his second professional MMA fight.

Singh won the fight, which was set up in hopes of making him looking stronger before the Emelianenko fight, via second-round TKO, however, two issues alarmed Rizin officials following the fight, according to sources.

First, Rizin officials weren't blown away by Singh's performance, which is somewhat understandable considering his lone MMA fight happened more than two years ago. Even more troubling for them, though, was that they felt Singh looked out of shape and would be a tough sell for the Japanese public.

Probably the kind of thing they should have worked out before signing him to a contract.

I'm sure the collective yawn from the combat sports community didn't help matters, either, nor did the "shady" comments from Emelianenko's former manager, Vadim Finkelchtein, who accused RFF of feeding "The Last Emperor" some "weak" opposition.

The good news is, there appears to be no shortage of available heavyweights.