Fedor Emelianenko to be drug tested ahead of Bellator fight

In February, MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko will step into the Bellator MMA cage to square off with former UFC heavyweight contender Matt Mitrione in a highly anticipated heavyweight showdown.

Ahead of the fight, it has now been confirmed by TASS.ru from Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker that ‘The Last Emperor’ will indeed be drug tested in the time between now and the fight. Coker explained that “doping tests will be carried out by the athletic commission.”

The fight will be Emelianenko’s first of the year, and will be his third since making his return to MMA at the end of 2015, where he picked up a dominant 1st round win over Jaideep Singh. Following his win over Singh, Emelianenko returned to fight Fabio Maldonado at EFN 50 in June where he picked up an exciting, but also controversial, win over the UFC vet in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia.

While Emelianenko will be riding a 5-fight win streak into the bout, Mitrione will be entering into the bout on a 2-fight win streak that has seen him pick up back to back TKO wins under the Bellator MMA banner. The pair of 2016 Bellator MMA wins snapped a 2-fight skid that had seen Mitrione drop back to back losses in the UFC.