Fedor Emelianenko admires Frank Mir, doesn’t expect to win Bellator tournament unless God lets him

Imagine how bummed you would be if you worked super hard during a six-week training camp, fought your ass off inside the cage, then God was like “Nah” and made you lose.

Hey, that shit can happen.

Just ask former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, who was named as one of the entrants in the Bellator 2018 heavyweight grand prix, where he’s expected to face the likes of Frank Mir and Roy Nelson, among others.

“There’s a lot of good fighters. Frank Mir is good, everybody’s good,” Emelianenko told Bloody Elbow. “If it’s God’s will, I will fight three people. I understand that as long as my career has been, my opponents also have an ability to study my style, because there’s so much footage, so I have to adapt, and I have to change it and constantly learn new things and try to come with a different look.”

He better hurry.

Emelianenko (36-5, 1 NC) turned 41 back in September and is coming off a technical knockout loss to UFC import Matt Mitrione. “The Last Emperor” has not looked competitive against top-tier competition in many moons.

Probably because he’s no longer using steroids, according to Michael Bisping.

No dates or match ups have been announced for Bellator’s tournament just yet; however, the first pairing is expected to headline an upcoming Spike TV event in early 2018.

Stay tuned.