Fedor Undergoes Surgery; Cast for 4-6 Weeks

Fedor Emelianenko’s injuries may not keep the top-ranked fighter on the sidelines for as long as initially expected.

The Russian heavyweight underwent a successful surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles to correct a dislocated thumb in his left hand and will have a half cast removed in 4-6 weeks, Emelianenko and his M-1 Global management team told Sherdog.com during an exclusive video interview conducted only a few hours following the procedure.

Emelianenko, 33, was initially thought to have sustained tendon or ligament damage in his left thumb during his second-round TKO victory over Brett Rogers at Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Rogers” at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The potentially serious injury could have called for complicated surgery and might have kept the world’s No. 1 heavyweight out of training for an estimated 4-6 months.

Instead, the fighter’s reps said two pins were placed in Emelianenko’s hand to correct the dislocation, and that the bone had not fractured nor broken through the skin as is possible with this type of injury. The 15-minute procedure was performed under general anesthesia at a Santa Monica hospital, said M-1 Global officials.

In the video interview, which will premiere Wednesday on Sherdog.com, Emelianenko said he believes he hurt his hand early in the first round, but has experienced minimum discomfort from it since.

Emelianenko also said that his nose was not fractured, as was earlier suspected, following Roger’s first punch -- a straight left that cut the bridge of the Russian’s nose and caused steady bleeding throughout the seven-minute bout. Emelianenko, who had no substantial bruising or discoloring around his nose or eyes, said he’d cut the same area sparring with his brother Aleksander over the summer in preparation for his cancelled bout with Josh Barnett for Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1.

Emelianenko said he planned to return to training, sans striking, upon his return to Russia later this week. M-1 officials said Emelianenko could headline his second co-promoted Strikeforce card in the first quarter of 2010.

Emelianenko and M-1 Global CEO Joost Raimond’s exclusive video interview, including their reactions to UFC President Dana White’s comments regarding Saturday’s bout, debuts Wednesday on Sherdog.com.