Fedor Emelianenko to Face Fabio Maldonado at Rizin FF Event on June 17

Fedor Emelianenko’s comeback tour will continue against Fabio Maldonado at a Rizin Fighting Federation on June 17, according to a report from Brazilian media outlet Combate.

Sherdog.com on Sunday confirmed the matchup with a source close to the bout, following an initial report from Brazilian outlet Combate. The Japanese promotion has yet to officially announced the matchup, which will reportedly take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, and will be contested at heavyweight.

After a retirement that lasted more than three years, Emelianenko returned to action at Rizin’s New Year’s Eve Event, where he forced Jaideep Singh to submit to punches 3:02 into the opening frame of their bout. “The Last Emperor” has won his last four fights and owns a 35-4 career record.

Maldonado, meanwhile, was released from the UFC following back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Quinton Jackson in 2015. While the 36-year-old Brazilian competed primarily at 205 pounds during his Octagon tenure, he did face Stipe Miocic at heavyweight in May 2014, losing via technical knockout in 35 seconds.