Fedor Emelianenko was teased as a potential signing earlier this year by BKFC’s partial owner Conor McGregor, and one of the commentators of the bare-knuckle fighting federation has commented on the discourse around this. On a recent episode of Bowks Talking Bouts, Sean Wheelock was asked about how well Fedor Emelianenko would fare in a weight category that is helmed by current BKFC champion Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski, who recently had a promising debut in gloveless combat at BKFC Texas last month.
When asked what he thinks the aptitude that ‘The Last Emperor’ would have for bare-knuckle if Fedor Emelianenko decided to throw down in the BKFC ring, Wheelock said,
“I know Fedor a little bit and how I got a chance to know Fedor was actually in M-1 [Global]. Because after Pride then Jerry Millen took me to M-1. I never quite knew if Fedor was an owner, an investor, a sponsor. I don’t know what he was. But he was always there and he would just hang around like a regular guy when he was the best fighter pound for pound on the planet [laughs]. He’s a lovely guy and I’ve commentated him. I got to know hom a little bit. I’m not going to say hey, we’re best friends but I know him a little bit.”
“I’m close with people who have a direct influence on his career. So I think that Fedor would probably be open to an opportunity if the money was right. But beyond that, I don’t know. For me, he’s the greatest heavyweight of all time… It’s tough. Eras change. Could Fedor in 2025 do what he did? Probably not because he’d probably be fighting at 205 or even 185. But forgetting what he could do now, if you look at the era, the wins he had, the quality of opponents, the frequency of fights, to me, he’s the greatest heavyweight in the history of MMA.”
Fedor Emelianenko’s accolades and why BKFC could be a good fit
Expounding upon the highs and lows of Fedor Emelianenko’s MMA run and why the framework of bare-knuckle could suit the former Pride champion well at this juncture, Wheelock continued,
“He’s in the top five all time pound-for-pound in MMA. With that said, he had a tough end of his career. He I think could still be relevant. What could be great BKFC you’re fighting five, two minute rounds. All of the high level fighters who did the bare knuckle as they got say above the age of 38, including my great broadcast partner Chris Lytle, have talked about the training is so much easier than it is training for fifteen or twenty five minutes of an MMA fight. So I fully believe Fedor could do it. I don’t know where he is.”
“He’s obviously very wealthy, he lives in Stary Oskol, Russia, great family great life but he’s a competitor. I would think opponent line dup and the opportunity lined up and it the money lined up, I think it’s at least a remote possiblity. How far along they are with Fedor and BKFC and what Conor McGregor said, I’m just not privy to that. I’m in the inner circle but I’m not in the inner, inner circle [laughs]. We don’t get that far.”
