40-year old mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko may have seen his best days past him. But “The Last Emperor” continues to soldier on in his resurgence. His latest setback however. A first round technical knockout loss to Matt Mitrione at Bellator 180. Seemed to cap off an amazing run late in his professional prizefighting career.
Fedor Emelianenko lost his most recent fight at Bellator in NYC
Fedor, in his third bout in the last two years, was stopped at 1:14 in round one after Mitrione swarmed him for the finish. The bout took place in front of a packed house at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Given Fedor’s legendary status, it is weird to see him get stopped in a fight so early. Fedor has figured in some epic battles over the course of his career. And this bout with Mitrione is absolutely shocking. Still, Fedor gave as good as he got in a short period, blasting Mitrione with bombs as he took Mitrione’s best shots.
While fans are pretty shocked at the outcome, one man thinks he knows the reason why Fedor performed the way he did. Reigning UFC middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping offered his comments once again. And once more, it was laden with controversy.
Bisping says there is a reason Fedor lost so badly at Bellator
“The reason for it is very, very simple,” Bisping said. “Steroids. I hate to be the guy that bangs on about it all the time, but that’s why guys who came over from Pride lost. Listen, I know that Pride – by the way this is third hand information – that they used to encourage taking steroids. They wanted them to look a certain way.
“They weren’t bothered, there was no drug testing and they wanted them to take steroids so it was more appealing to the Japanese audience. Of course when they come over to America they get drug tested so they don’t take those drugs.”
“I’m not saying it’s gospel, that Fedor was taking them,” Bisping finished. “But I’d say all signs point to that direction. Anytime he came over to America, he didn’t do well. Even Mirko Cro Cop was the same.”
Is there any truth to it?
While it is outrageous to think that Fedor was doping. And the fact that it’s probably just a wild claim by Bisping. One can’t help but wonder. To be fair, Fedor never possessed a body that would suggest someone on performance enhancing drugs. Not like the incredibly juiced up Vitor Belfort of old.
Fedor, although a terribly large and scary individual for sure, has always been slightly round around the edges.
Then again, Fedor’s former training partner Kirill “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov once tested positive for Stanozolol. That came after his one and only fight in North America. Sidelnikov was chubby and also didn’t possess a body that would make anyone think he was on steroids.
The point is, not every steroid user is ripped with bulging muscles and popping veins. You get the picture.
So do you guys agree with Bisping? Is that the reason Fedor lost? Or was it simply that he had a bad night?
