Fedor Emelianenko Reveals He’d Like to Have Two More Fights as Part of Retirement Tour

There was a little bit of confusion regarding Fedor Emelianenko’s status as an active mixed martial artist following his first-round stoppage of Quinton Jackson in the Bellator 237 headliner on Saturday night.

The Russian’s translator indicated that the veteran fighter was calling it a career during a post-fight interview in the cage shortly after the victory. However, “The Last Emperor” clarified those comments to media later, revealing that it was simply his last fight in Japan. He still has two more destinations on his retirement tour before he’s done.

“I’m doing my tour and this is my final fights, and I want to do a fight in Japan, I want to do a fight in U.S., and I went to do Russia,” Emelianenko said (video via MMAjunkie.com). “So Japan, it was my retirement fight in Japan. So I’m not retiring.”

Emelianenko kicked off his farewell journey in style at Saitama Super Arena. The former Pride Fighting Championships star overwhelmed “Rampage” from the outset of their heavyweight clash, attacking with flurries of punches while avoiding any return fire from his opponent. A straight right hand sent Jackson face down to the canvas at the 2:44 mark of Round 1 to give Emelianenko three wins in his last four Bellator appearances.

“I thought the fight would end up on the ground, but as soon as I got into the cage, I started to feel that I was faster than ‘Rampage’ and I started to feel that edge,” Emelianenko said. “It would make no sense to go to the ground, so that’s why I kept it up.”

It’s currently unclear when Emelianenko would like to return to action for the next leg of his retirement tour. He revealed that he will return to Russia to spend the holidays with his family before discussing his future with Bellator officials at a later date.