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Former heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko announced his retirement last year following a win over Pedro Rizzo, ending his career with a record of 35-4.

The win was the third straight for “The Last Emperor” following a string of defeats in Strikeforce.

Many felt he would continue fighting, but the passing of his father let Emelianenko to announce his retirement. Recently, during an interview with RT Sport News, he was asked about a possible return to fighting.

“I don’t think (I’m coming out of retirement),” he said. “Only if God tells me to come back. No other way.”

Emelianenko was defeated by Fabricio Werdum in 2010, snapping a nine-year unbeaten run.

Photo credit: James Law/MMA Fighting

Of course, Dan Henderson is a legendary figure of the sport. He’s beaten a laundry list of elite fighters in Pride, The UFC, and Strikeforce. Over his career, Henderson has proven himself to be an amazingly dynamic and versatile fighter. He’s competed and held key wins over opponents at middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Even more impressive, he managed to hold the 185 pound and 205 pound Pride belts simultaneously. He is now 42 years old, but that hasn’t slowed him a bit. Henderson was set to square off with Jon Jones at UFC 151, but ultimately a knee injury led to the fight being cancelled all together. He’s now only one win away (Lyoto Machida) from another crack at UFC gold.

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Vadim Finkelstein, the founder of M-1 Global, believes the UFC could find some success in Russia – but appears to believe the promotion would need his assistance to do so.

Finkelstein, who continues to promote M-1 despite the loss of megastar Fedor Emelianenko, recently discussed the UFC entering his country in an interview with Combat Bear.

“I don’t think the UFC will hold fights very often in Russia. Maybe once a year, but Russia is not the right place for them. I’m ready to give them my champions if we can come to an agreement. We have a lot of experience.”

Previously, the UFC tried to bring Emelianenko into the UFC, but always had issues dealing with Finkelstein, who insisted on co-promotion. The UFC is not likely to use any of the M-1 Global fighters if Finkelstein insists on co-promoting.

As for Fedor, Finkelstein said he takes “every opportunity to convince Fedor to return. He still has more to show us.”

Emelianenko retired last year and has insisted he will remain retired following the passing of his father.

Photo credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog

Dana White Says he plans on taking The UFC brand into Russia soon. He also gives details about almost signing Fedor last year.

UFC president Dana White broke a little news of his own Saturday night following the post-fight press conference at UFC on Fox 6.

It would appear that White and the rest of the UFC were deep in talks with Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko in 2012, and that they were close to putting them together inside the Octagon at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

We were negotiating for months. Then, after (Fedor’s) dad died, he said, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’ Then Brock said, ‘I’m done, too.’ We were right there. When I was talking about doing that big stadium show, it was going to be Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko.

Emelianenko retired following a victory over Pedro Rizzo last year, while Lesnar left the UFC in 2011 after a loss to Alistair Overeem. Lesnar and White met in 2012, and the UFC boss stated at the time that it was the worst meeting he had ever had with the former UFC heavyweight champion. White admitted Saturday that he lied about that, and that the two had a great conversation concerning the potential match.

Photo credit: Taro Irei/Sherdog

Fedor Emelianenko will remain in MMA even if he holds up to his retirement speech.

Emelianenko, who announced the end of his long-fighting career earlier this year, was named the president of the Russian MMA Union, according to M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan.

Today MMA became an official sport in Russia, with all the ministry support this entails. Russian MMA Union w/ Fedor as president, oversees.

— evgeni kogan (@evgenikogan) September 26, 2012

Emelianenko won his last three fights after a three-fight losing streak while competing in Strikeforce. The 35-year-old holds a career record of 34-4, and will likely go down as one of the greatest fighters of all-time.

After a passing comment White made started rumors of Fedor Emelianenko coming to The UFC, White explains his statement, and he maintains that it is still just as unlikely.

Inside MMA correspondent Ron Kruck spoke with Fedor Emelianenko after his fight with Pedro Rizzo to talk about his retirement.

Inside MMA airs live on HDNet every Monday night at 8pm ET.

Inside MMA Archive

Former heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was a guest on HDNet’s Inside MMA recently. “The Last Emperor” opened up on his decision to retire following a win over Pedro Rizzo last weekend.

I’ve got daughters, and they’re growing up without me. This is very, very difficult for me. Family is always first place for me, so this is the time.

Emelianenko said that no significant offers were presented to him to continue fighting. He will likely go down as one of the greatest fighters to never grace the UFC’s Octagon – if his retirement holds up.

During the interview, Fedor was asked if the constant questions surrounding his retirement date played any factor in his decision, which he denied.

People will accept my decision. They gotta understand that it’s my decision and I’ve got to go. You shouldn’t be disappointed that I’m leaving. Life is going on. I want to thank everyone who has supported me. Eventually the time to go was coming. My time has come. We’ll try to make some new MMA stars.

As for any future fights, Fedor did leave the door cracked open, saying, “I’m not promising, but anything is possible.”

Photo credit: James Law/MMA Fighting

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Pedro Rizzo full fight video via IronForgesIron.com.