Dana White Has No Update on Fedor Negotiations: ‘It’s Been a Mystery for a Very Long Time’

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While Fedor Emelianenko is still planning a return to mixed martial arts, details of his highly anticipated comeback remain murky at best.

Earlier this summer, “The Last Emperor” announced that he would fight again for the first time since retiring following a victory over Pedro Rizzo in June 2012. Since then, numerous rumors have swirled around the ex-Pride Fighting Championships star, including a recent report that had the stoic Russian on the verge of signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Emelianenko’s imminent return has made for plenty of entertaining speculation in recent weeks, but Dana White had little to say on the matter during a recent press conference in Melbourne to promote UFC 193. The UFC boss shot down rumors that Emelianenko would be on the Nov. 14 card -- “He’d be here,” White said -- while offering little insight into any possible negotiation process with the pound-for-pound legend.

“There is nothing to tell you. If there was, I’d tell you,” White said. “The Fedor thing has been a mystery for a very long time. We’ve obviously talked to them. I don’t know what they’re doing right now or what their plans are.”

For now, Emelianenko’s next stop will be a somewhat familiar one, as he is slated to appear at Bellator MMA’s Fan Fest event this week ahead of the California-based promotion’s “Dynamite” event on Saturday. However, Bellator President Scott Coker has indicated that the promotion is not likely to sign Emelianenko.