Fedor Emelianenko defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in the opening round of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix at Bellator 198.
Days before the event total place, some FBI agents visited Emelianenko and his team at a hotel according to The Telegraph.
“The FBI came to the hotel looking to talk to Fedor and they were very nice, came in to speak with Fedor for a few minutes, spoke to me, very cool guys, and that’s all I can really say about it,” Emelianenko’s US Agent Jerry Millen said to the Associated Press. “Again, the FBI did come to the hotel, they found us, knocked on the door. Hundred percent, kind of surprised. They were very nice, very professional.”
Emelianenko does have ties to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump. Trump helped promote the Afflication MMA cards many years back, where Emelianenko defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski in subsequent bouts. Michael Cohen, a lawyer for Trump, was also the Chief Operating Officer for Affliction and is also being investigated by the US government at the moment.
MMA Fighting contacted the Chicago office for the FBI about meeting with Emelianenko and they didn’t get much of an answer.
“Per policy, we do not comment on investigations we may or may not be conducting without a public record basis upon which to speak,” Special Agent Janine L. Wheeler emailed to MMA Fighting.
Chael Sonnen will now fight Emelianenko in the semi-finals of the heavyweight grand prix, it is unknown at this time of the FBI will trail Fedor on that trip as well.
