Fedor Emelianenko Knocks Out Frank Mir in Bellator 198 Headliner

Former Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was victorious in the headliner for tonight’s Bellator 198 event. The fight was held in Rosemont, Illinois and broadcast live on the Paramount Network.

Emelianenko knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in the headlining bout, which was an opening round fight for the Bellator MMA Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. Mir was finished by strikes about 50 seconds into the first round.

Emelianenko bounces back after a knockout loss to Matt Mitrione at Bellator NYC in June 2017. This is also the first time he won a fight in the United States since 2009 over Brett Rogers in Strikeforce. Before that, Emelianenko had lost his last four fights in the US.

Frank Mir has now suffered three straight losses. This was his first MMA fight since a March 2016 knockout loss to Mark Hunt. This puts his overall record at 18-12 for his MMA career.

The Russian heavyweight fighter now moves forward in the tournament. He will next face former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen in the next round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix.