UFC
UFC denies report they've officially signed "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko
Sep 1, 2015 - 3:55:54 PM UFC denies report they've officially signed "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A report from CombatPress.com stating that Fedor Emelianenko has signed with the UFC has gotten a lot of fans excited about the prospect of "The Last Emperor" making his way into the Octagon this year. However, the UFC is officially denying the report, and former Emelianenko manager Vadim Finkelchtein says it's premature as well.

The initial report on Tuesday states that Emelianenko has officially signed, and expects an announcement to come within the next few weeks. Additionally, they speculate that Emelianenko could debut as early as UFC 193 in November, where the UFC will be running a stadium show in Melbourne, Australia.

UFC VP of Public Relations Dave Sholler flat out denied the accuracy of the report when asked directly on Twitter:

.@MrMWellsArt @ufc report is not accurate whatsoever

— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) September 1, 2015

Meanwhile, Finkelchtein stated in comments made to MMAFighting.com that they "are just talking" with different promotions at this point, and haven't yet signed with anyone. Finkelchtein is not serving as Emelianenko's manager, though, and may not actually be as involved in the process as he has been in the past.

For now, fans will await an official announcement one way or another as "The Last Emperor" looks to make his return to active competition.

Penick's Analysis: Combat Press has had a solid track record with their sources in the past, so it's absolutely a believable report. However, with the UFC denying its accuracy it's possible that an official signing hasn't yet happened. It's also possible that he has signed but the UFC wants to announce it when they're ready to announce it, so they're denying the report now until they're ready to reveal the signing. It's hard to say, but signs continue to point to Emelianenko being Octagon-bound, and if that indeed happens it's going to make for the biggest possible platform on which he could make his return. Now, whether or not he's effective and can win on that stage after three years out is a different story, but he'll be coming back for the highest level of competition he can find in 2015.