Bas Rutten Chimes In On Fedor Emelianenko’s MMA Return – Claims ‘The Last Emperor’ Could Defeat Jon Jones At 205 Pounds


Its been a little over two weeks since Fedor Emelianenko announced to the MMA community he is coming out of retirement. Since then, many have speculated if “The Last Emperor” would make his return in the biggest MMA promotion today, UFC. To help build such a push, many sports media outlets have done their best to link Emelianenko and UFC together. They did this during a post-fight conference with Frank Mir asking him if he would fight Emelianenko. They also did this during an interview with manager Vadim Finkelchtein, in which he said there is a “big chance” Emelianenko will be in the UFC.

Now the latest MMA figure to give his two cents on Fedor Emelianenko is Bas Rutten. “El Guapo” says if Emelianenko does go to UFC, he needs to drop down to 205 pounds. Rutten believes Emelianenko would do well in the light heavyweight division. He even says Emelianenko could defeat Jon Jones.

According to MMA Fighting, Bas Rutten showed his intrigue of Fedor Emelianenko’s return on Submission Radio. When asked about Emelianenko possible MMA return being in UFC, Rutten wants it to be in the light heavyweight division.

“[Emelianenko] shouldn’t be fighting at heavyweight. The guy’s like 225 pounds. Eh, you’re just there. Lose like 15 pounds and then fight at 205. What an animal he would be. But then again, he probably fights at the weight he feels more comfortable.”

What’s interesting is that Bas Rutten believes Fedor Emelianenko can more than handle himself fighting as a light heavyweight despite never competing in said division in the past, as highlighted by Fox Sports. As a matter of fact, Rutten claims Emelianenko can defeat the former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.

“If [former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones] comes back, he’s an animal, too. When I think about Fedor I see him just crushing people in Japan. If I think about him coming back because maybe he had injuries and those were the reasons that he started losing? I don’t know. If I picture that Fedor coming back I think sky’s the limit for him. Even [against] Jon Jones. I don’t know. He always finds a way to win.”

Bas Rutten’s full interview with Submission Radio is attached below. Along with discussing Fedor Emelianenko’s return, Rutten also gave his views on Conor McGregor becoming the UFC interim featherweight championship, his UFC Hall of Fame Induction, and his hypothesis on what it would be like if Bruce Lee were in MMA today.

[Image via Michael Buckner/Getty]

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