Retiring following a second loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 only makes my love for Fedor Emelianenko stronger, as I try to put into words why he's such a titan of mixed martial arts. After that, I turn my attention to two modern champions aiming to etch their name into the same hallowed ground we see Fedor's, as UFC 145lb champ Alexander Volkanovski moves up in weight for arguably his toughest challenge yet (and almost certainly his biggest) as he takes on reigning UFC 155lb champ Islam Makhachev. I give my prediction as to who will win and why, and you can read the excellent piece I mentioned on the grappling dynamics in this fight below:

"Analyzing Alexander Volkanovski's Match-up with Islam Makhachev and Challenging MMA's Myths"

and my piece on Fedor from a couple of years back describing what made his career so darn great.

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