Hail Fedor! Russian legend knocks out Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208, advances to the Heavyweight Grand Prix finals

Ryan Bader wanted it and deep down inside, so did Bellator. So when Fedor Emelianenko knocked out Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208 inside the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY, everything seemed to go according to plan.

The day after Bader advanced to the Heavyweight Grand Prix finals by defeating Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207, the hype surrounding Sonnen (31-16-1) and Fedor (38-5, 1 NC) could be felt around the building. Two veterans were going at it for a shot at glory and it all felt like we were in a special moment in time.

Billed as “U.S.A. v. Russia”, this was everything but that. Fedor’s striking ability was going against the rare wrestling ability of Sonnen. From the get-go, Fedor had control, dropping Chael to the floor with an early strike. “The American Gangster” tried to play it smart by wrestling Fedor to the ground, doing moves that he said he hasn’t done since college. It was to no avail, however, as Fedor literally pushed him away at every moment. It wasn’t until 4:46 in the first that Fedor decided to end the fight.

Landed another huge shot to Chael’s face, Fedor mounted on top of him and started hammering away. Referee Dan Miragliotta had no choice but to end the fight before any more damage was done to Chael.

https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/1051323532096000001

After the fight, Sonnen had the following to say about his tough opponent:

“Everything he did hurt. Everything he did had bad intentions. He was very fast, he was very powerful. He looked like he did when I watched him on TV, but I could feel it.”

The Verbal Assassin strikes again. Chael is now 2-3 in his last few fights, even after beating both Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson. The latter fight was the opening round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix. Fedor has now won two in a row, easily dispatching Frank Mir in his opening round match.

Now we have a fight between an MMA legend in Fedor and a fighter looking to become a legend in Bader (26-5). The current Light Heavyweight Champion, a win over Fedor can help cement Bader’s legacy in MMA. Do not look past Fedor, however. If he has the same fire in his eyes as he did inside the Nassau Coliseum, Bader and the rest of the MMA world will be in a lot of trouble.