Fedor Emelianenko reaffirmed GOAT status with win at Bellator Japan, says Scott Coker

Bellator president Scott Coker said that Fedor Emelianenko reaffirmed his status as the MMA GOAT with his win at Bellator Japan.

Emelianenko knocked out fellow legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the first round with punches in what is likely the last time he will fight at the storied Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, where the Russian starred for many years as the PRIDE heavyweight champion.

Coker said he was extremely impressed with how dominant Emelianenko looked against Jackson and said it reaffirmed his status as MMA’s GOAT.

Here’s what Coker told the media about Emelianenko’s performance.

“He’s the GOAT. He proved it again tonight. I think this is the best I’ve seen him look in the last year-and-a-half. So take it for what it’s worth, but he’s 3-1 in his last four fights in Bellator. So he’s doing very well,” Coker said about Emelianenko.

With the knockout win over Jackson, “The Last Emperor” bounced back from a quick KO loss to Ryan Bader earlier this year in the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. Before that, Emelianenko had defeated Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen via strikes.

Overall, Emelianenko has a 39-6, 1 NC record in mixed martial arts. He was clearly the best fighter of the decade between 2000 and 2009 as he nearly went undefeated during that time with a 31-1, 1 NC record. But he tailed off during the decade between 2010 and 2019, going just 8-5 overall.

While most fans and media would agree that Emelianenko should be on the shortlist of the greatest fighters of all time, considering some of the bad losses he had this decade it would appear that fighter such as Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre have leapfrogged Emelianenko in the GOAT rankings. But it’s a very subjective question to answer, and clearly Coker feels very strongly about Emelianenko being No. 1.

Do you agree with Scott Coker that Fedor Emelianenko is the GOAT in MMA history?