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09/02/10 - Aleksander Emelianenko "to fight former Cage Rage champ"
Aleksander Emelianenko could be back in action in the coming months with a fight in the French capital of Paris, Fighters Only was told by a European source this morning. His opponent is rumoured to be former Cage Rage heavyweight champion Tengiz Tedoradze.
No date or venue has been reported for the bout, which is said to be only in the talking stages at present. Emelianenko has not competed in MMA since March last year. His planned move in the US market stalled after he was pulled at short notice from Affliction’s first show in 2008. The reasons for his removal have been the subject of endless rumour but no definite reason has ever been stated.
Tedoradze held the Cage Rage heavyweight belt in 2007 and holds wins over James Thompson and UFC referee Marc Goddard. He has also fought and lost to Fabricio Werdum, Jeff Monson and Antonio Silva.
Tengiz’s nationality lends an interesting aspect to the fight. He hails from Georgia, a breakaway republic that was once part of Russia’s Soviet Union. Georgia and Russia recently had a brief war in 2008 when the region of South Ossetia - which Georgia claims sovereignty over - tried to devolve and claim independence.
Georgia sent troops into South Ossetia to reclaim the territory and Russia immediately sent its own troops to fight them off. Aleksander also travelled to the region to show what he termed his “solidarity with Ossetian comrades”.
Despite having relocated to the UK, Tedoradze is a former bodyguard to the Georgian president and fiercely proud of his roots. The fight could be a battle of national pride with memories of 2008’s war still strong in the minds of both men.
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