Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Fedor Emelianenko retired after suffering a first round TKO loss to Bellator Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 290.
UFC President Dana White, who did try to sign the legend to the promotion many years back, never did think that Emelianenko was as great as many built him up to be.
“I don’t want to s*** on the guy,” White said at the UFC Vegas 68 post-fight press conference (transcript via Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting). “He’s retiring tonight and all that stuff, but you guys know the deal with interviews with me, I never thought Fedor was that — I mean he got knocked out by middleweight Dan Henderson. I think some of the guys in the business, people liked him, so they praised him, he never got to test himself over here. I was never one of the guys that thought he was one of the greatest of all-time.”
While Emelianenko never did compete in the UFC, the retired fighter did hold wins over such UFC veterans as Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman, Renato Sobral, Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gary Goodridge and more.
White says he has no dislike for Emelianenko, despite a failed attempt to sign the fighter.
“No, I don’t dislike Fedor or anything like that,” White said. “But no, it didn’t happen. We gave it a shot. You can’t say we didn’t try. We gave it a shot and it is what it is.”
