Fedor Emelianenko’s legendary MMA career may be over, but he’s not ready to give up combat sports just yet.
And he has a big name in mind for his next fight.
Emelianenko called out Mike Tyson for a potential boxing match during an interview on the MMA Hour.
“We watched the fight on TV of Roy Jones Jr. vs. Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson would be an interesting fight,” Emelianenko said. “He has a big name, he’s a legend. … It would be interesting because you can see a lot of his videos on YouTube and all over the place, he’s still in good shape. He still works pads, he still has that same power.”
Tyson returned to the ring in November 2020 for an exhibition against Jones Jr., drawing a jaw-dropping 1.6 million pay-per-view buys. Interest in the fight sparked rumors Tyson could head back into the ring for future exhibitions—most notably against Evander Holyfield—but nothing has come to fruition.
The bout marked the first time in 15 years Tyson entered a boxing ring.
Emelianenko retired from MMA in February after a first-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290. He does not have any professional boxing experience, but the 46-year-old is 11 years Tyson’s junior and has been an active fighter far more recently.
It’s unclear if Tyson has any interest in getting back into the ring after landing a strong pay day for his Jones fight, but a cross-sport bout between the two legends would undoubtedly draw significant attention.