MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Russia’s world-renowned mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko is seeking an alternative opponent for a potential boxing match after talks with American ring legend Mike Tyson led nowhere, a source in the Russian fighter’s team told TASS on Friday.

"Fedor is considering alternative opponents. There was no progress in the talks with Tyson," he said.

In August this year, Emelianenko said in an interview with the MMAFighting.com sports website that he would like to take on Tyson in a boxing match.

Reached by a TASS correspondent earlier in the day, Tyson’s promoter, Bob Arum, said there were no talks at all about a potential boxing match with Emelianenko, as the idea of such a bout was completely absurd and there was no point at all in trying to organize it. He also advised that Tyson be left alone given that the US boxer has long been retired from professional sports.

Emelianenko, 46, boasted an official MMA record of 40 wins (16 by KO/TKO; 15 by submission; nine by decision) and six defeats (five by KO/TKO; one by submission) before the final bout of his career, a rematch against American MMA champ Ryan Bader in Los Angeles in February, which resulted in a first-round loss for the retiring Russian.

US fabulous boxer Mike Tyson

Legendary American boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson holds a record of 50 wins (44 by KO) and six defeats in his professional boxing career.

The US fighter, who officially wrapped up his professional career in 2005, holds the record for being the youngest boxer to unify the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, becoming undisputed champion at the age of 20. He won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout.

Tyson, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, was the first-ever heavyweight to simultaneously hold the WBC, WBA and IBF championship belts and the only fighter to successfully unify them.

‘The Last Emperor’ Fedor Emelianenko

The MMA star had temporarily retired between 2012 and 2015. During that hiatus, Emelianenko held the post of president of the Russian MMA Union and also served from November 2012 as an advisor to then-Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

Following his 2015 comeback, Emelianenko had eight bouts, defeating India’s Jaideep Singh, then clinching another victory over Brazil’s Fabio Maldonado. In June 2017, he lost by TKO to US fighter Matt Mitrione. In April 2018, he defeated US heavyweight Frank Mir with a KO win in the first round, and in October 2018 he enjoyed a TKO triumph over American fighter Chael Sonnen. In January 2019, he lost by TKO (punches) to Ryan "Darth" Bader of the United States and then knocked out US fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in December 2019.

In September 2022, Emelianenko defeated 35-year-old Timothy Johnson of the United States with a KO win in the opening round of their Bellator 269 tournament fight in Moscow.

Born on September 28, 1976, in Rubezhnoye, Ukraine, Emelianenko fought his way to the top, earning numerous titles throughout his career.

He was the MMA Pride Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion (2003-2007), FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship Heavyweight Champion 2002, 2005, 2007, and the Russian Judo Federation National Championship bronze medalist (1998, 1999).

In 2009, the esteemed American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, named him "the top MMA fighter of the decade.".