UFC President Dana White has spoken out about the career of Fedor Emelianenko, who announced he was done after losing to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290.
"Look. The guy is 46 years old? He shouldn't be fighting. He's a grown man, he can do whatever he wants, but he should have retired years ago. I never thought Fedor was that good. He got knocked out by middleweight Dan Henderson, you know? People love him, praise him, but he never tested himself here. I've never been someone who thought he was one of the greatest of all time," White said at the post-UFC Fight Nights 218 press conference.
Look. The guy is 46 years old? He shouldn't be fighting. He's a grown man, he can do whatever he wants, but he should have retired years ago. I never thought Fedor was that good. He got knocked out by middleweight Dan Henderson, you know? People love him, praise him, but he never tested himself here. I've never been someone who thought he was one of the greatest of all time.
On February 5, following Bellator 290, Emelianenko announced the end of his fighting career after a first-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader.
Emelianenko and Bader fought for the first time in January 2019 at Bellator 214. That fight, which was stopped in the first round, ended with Fedor losing by technical knockout.
Emelianenko knocked out Timothy Johnson at Bellator 269 in October 2021. In December 2019 at Bellator 237, Fedor won by first-round knockout over Quinton Jackson. Emelianenko has a record of 40 wins and six losses.
